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When an 11-year-old boy in Houston came down with measles this spring, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter took notice and reminded parents the disease is preventable.

"An epidemic could sweep this city, and it could happen at any time," said Mrs. Carter during a March visit to the Lyons Clinic in East Houston. "To mothers and fathers I would like to say, 'Please bring your babies in and get them immunized and save them from needless suffering.' "

"Anger fills me that we do not take care of our children," added Betty Bumpers, wife of Arkansas Sen. Dale Bumpers.

In 1991, Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Bumpers founded Every Child By Two (ECBT), a national campaign to promote vaccination against measles and other preventable diseases for children by age 2 . They have since started campaigns in 36 states, many in conjunction with governors' spouses. Together, ECBT and the American Nurses Association have enlisted more than 70 national organizations as immunization partners. Many of those supporters gathered at The Carter Center in April to mark ECBT's third anniversary and to honor Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Bumpers.

"Every Child By Two is important because of its level of immunization and its approach to controlling health at the community level," said David Satcher, M.D., director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "The Carter-Bumpers strategy respects the existing health care system, provides skill and experience in establishing local partnerships, and offers a willingness to empower and acknowledge health care efforts in the local community."

"The public and private sectors are working together, and that's the way it has to be if we're going to solve this problem," Mrs. Carter said during the celebration. "We don't go into a state and tell people what to do. We focus attention on what they're already doing. Our goal is to find a way to register babies when they are born and and track them so we are sure they get immunized. This also gets them into clinics and into the primary health care setting."

"There are so many old friends who have helped Rosalynn and me put state and community coalitions together," Mrs. Bumpers said. "It's a wonderful cooperative venture of communities picking up and owning the health of their children."

The celebration also honored ECBT's public and private immuni-zation partners in health, education, government, and business. Anthem Health Plans, a consortium of health-related businesses, hosted the event.

"We know that the cost of immunization is very small compared to the much greater cost of hospitalization," said John Cuny, president and CEO of Anthem. "Much of the challenge is simply a matter of education--getting the word out and informing parents of the need for immunization."

Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Bumpers are doing just that, taking their campaign to Wisconsin, Texas, Connecticut, and Virginia this year. In addition, Mrs. Bumpers is making follow-up visits to ECBT states to learn from their efforts to vaccinate and track children and to show support for their state and local health workers.

"We're providing more and more technical assistance and receiving more and more requests for state visits and materials," said Linda Talbott, director of ECBT in Washington, D.C. "Every state we visit adds another dimension to our efforts. It's amazing to see how much our efforts have grown."

• at least one dose of MMR vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella;
• at least three doses of DTP vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough);
• at least three doses of polio vaccine; and
• at least three doses of HiB vaccine to protect against meningitis.

In addition, the CDC hopes to immunize 70 percent of 2-year-olds with three doses of the vaccine to prevent the liver disease Hepatitis B.

Source: The Washington Post, May 10, 1994