(NewsNation) — Children in West Texas are being treated for toxic levels of vitamin A amid misinformation spreading about its ability to treat measles.
Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock confirmed to Texas Public Radio that it admitted fewer than 10 pediatric patients who were all initially hospitalized because of measles complications and now have elevated levels of vitamin A. The outlet reports that this is resulting in “abnormal liver function.”
Taking too much vitamin A can “pose various adverse effects, disrupting the body’s equilibrium and overall well-being,” the National Institutes of Health states.
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The vitamin A toxicity cases come as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a Fox News digital op-ed that vitamin A can dramatically reduce measles mortality.
On March 4, Kennedy suggested in a Fox interview that therapies using cod liver oil, which contains vitamins A and D, were working to treat measles patients.
According to Texas Public Radio, there are reports that cod liver oil is in high demand in West Texas, and it’s a big seller at local pharmacies.
“I did not hear anything about vitamin A until he said it on television,” Katherine Wells, the director of public health in Lubbock, said in The New York Times.
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Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its measles guidance to say vitamin A “may be administered to infants and children in the United States with measles as part of supportive management” and that children with a severe case should be managed with it.
The CDC notes that it is not a substitute for vaccination and warns that overusing vitamin A can lead to toxicity as well as liver, bone, central nervous system and skin damage.
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Dr. Philip Huang, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, told NewsNation he’s worried Kennedy’s advice could “distract” from what he believes is the real solution for this preventable disease.
“Some people will do some of these alternative practices instead of getting the vaccine,” Huang said in an interview earlier this month. “And we really want to make sure the vaccine is the primary message.”
Huang added that the measles vaccine is safe and effective and “millions of people have had it.”
While the World Health Organization recommends a daily dose of vitamin A for children with measles in areas where vitamin A deficiencies are common, the supplement is meant to reduce eye damage and blindness from the disease — not prevent it altogether.
“Yes, vitamin A is important in places like Africa, but this isn’t Africa,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said to NewsNation. “(America doesn’t) have vitamin A deficiency.”
In response to recent media reports, The Council for Responsible Nutrition put out a statement saying that research has not established vitamin A is effective in preventing measles infection.
“Measles is a serious and highly contagious viral disease that can lead to severe health complications,” said Andrea Wong, Ph.D., senior vice president of scientific and regulatory Affairs, CRN. “Treatment and care for measles should always be conducted under the guidance of a qualified healthcare practitioner.”
As of March 7, 378 confirmed measles cases were reported by 18 jurisdictions: Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, and Washington, per the CDC.
NewsNation digital producer Anna Kutz contributed to this report.
