The wife of White House communications chief Bill Shine has inaccurately claimed that diseases such as measles can “fight cancer.”

On Wednesday, Darla Shine expressed her anti-vaccination views in a series of tweets in response to a CNN report on the measles outbreak in the United States.

“Here we go LOL #measlesoutbreak on CNN #fake #hysteria,” Shine wrote. “The entire Baby Boom population alive today had the #Measles as kids.

“Bring back our #ChildhoodDiseases they keep you healthy & fighting cancer.”

Shine, who used to work as a TV producer, then claimed that she had the measles, mumps and chickenpox as a child and “so did every kid I knew.”

Polio: iron lungs, leg braces and vaccination Show all 8 1 /8 Polio: iron lungs, leg braces and vaccination Polio: iron lungs, leg braces and vaccination A hospitalised child suffering from polio shows off his biceps to a doctor in 1947 Getty Images Polio: iron lungs, leg braces and vaccination Children being given an oral vaccine for polio, known then as infantile paralysis, in Hull during the 1961 epidemic Rex Features Polio: iron lungs, leg braces and vaccination A boy suffering from polio being treated with a type of 'iron lung' in hospital. A nurse operates the equipment at the end of the bed which controls the flow of air pressure Getty Images Polio: iron lungs, leg braces and vaccination A woman sees her new born baby whilst lying inside an iron lung as part of her treatment for Polio Getty Images Polio: iron lungs, leg braces and vaccination Polio victim Margaret Dixon watching the opening matches of the 1957 Wimbledon championships from her invalid chair Rex Features Polio: iron lungs, leg braces and vaccination Young children polio patients doing physiotherapy exercises wearing calipers against their outside beds at Wingfield Nuffield Orthopaedic hospital in Oxfordshire Rex Features Polio: iron lungs, leg braces and vaccination A five year old polio victim walks into the outstretched arms of Doctor George Deaver, faculty member of the New York University College of Medicine, during a demonstration at the Institute of Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine Getty Images Polio: iron lungs, leg braces and vaccination 6 May 1956: First injections for children against polio at the Hendon clinic Getty Images

“Sadly my kids had #MMR so they will never have the life-long natural immunity I have. Come breathe on me!” she continued.

The MMR is the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination and is recommended to children, teens, and adults by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to prevent against the diseases.

As of 7 February, there have been 101 measles cases reported in 10 states across the United States.

Most of the diagnosed cases have been children who did not receive the vaccination, the CDC reports.

According to the NHS, measles is a “highly infectious viral illness that can be very unpleasant and sometimes lead to serious complications.”

Symptoms include a high fever, cold-like symptoms, and small grey or white spots on the inside of the cheeks. It can also be deadly, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) reporting more than 100,000 people died from measles in 2017.

In the US, more than 70,000 cases of measles have been prevented between 1994 and 2013 as a result of the vaccine, according to the CDC, and the disease was declared eliminated in the country in 2000.

While many people did contract measles before the vaccine was created, with the CDC reporting that nearly all children in the decade before 1963 had measles by the time they were 15 years old, there is no scientific evidence that measles increases an individual’s chance of fighting cancer.

Despite the evidence proving otherwise, Shine continued to defend her stance - to the dismay of people on social media.

Measles outbreak in New York

“Imagine wanting your children to die of preventable childhood diseases,” one person wrote.

Another said: “Yeah, let’s fight cancer by giving children measles so they can die faster. But hey! At least your kid won’t have cancer anymore, because all those mutated blood cells will die with them.”

“This is an idiotic statement! Do the research please. I had measles as a kid… and have had cancer two times, breast and endometrial. Please don’t pass on false information,” someone else responded.

This year, WHO named vaccine hesitancy a top threat to global health for the first time as people continue to believe that there is a link between vaccinations and autism.

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