“Canary in the Coal Mine”: Hope and Emergency in the Management of Measles

Exploring the relationship between governmental infectious disease management and emergency systems, I examine the turn to emergency in European measles management during the resurgence of the disease between 2017 and 2020. While measles management was shaped by hope for disease eradication and as a progressive pursuit of elimination, amid growing concerns with vaccination coverage, hope was redirected toward reversing regression in the struggle against infectious disease. I argue that perception of and action on public health issues as emergencies is intricately tied to change in the fundamental construct of governmental infectious disease management, regardless of change in the disease or its categorization.