Doctor David Bardens , pictured above , took biologist Stefan Lanka to court and won . A German biologist who offered 100,000 euros to anyone who could provide scientific evidence that the measles virus existed , has been ordered to pay up by a court . Skeptic Stefan Lanka made the undertaking in an advert that he posted online several years ago . Doctor David Bardens attempted to claim the prize after providing the biologist with a comprehensive study that had been published in a medical journal . Lanka was hauled before a German Court when he failed to uphold his side of the bargain and pay up , reported The Local . A Judge in the regional court in Ravensburg , South Germany , ruled in the favour of Dr Bardens and found that he had met the criteria of the advert . Lanka claims that the illness is not a virus and is psychosomatic , according to the BBC . He has reportedly said that he will now appeal the decision , according to The Local . Germany is currently in the middle of a debate about whether vaccinations should be made compulsory after a recent outbreak of the virus . Measles is a highly infectious viral illness that can be very unpleasant and can sometimes lead to serious complications . Scroll down for video . It is now very uncommon in the UK due to the effectiveness of the MMR vaccination , according to the NHS . In the US public health officials are struggling to persuade more parents vaccinate their children . In some states , the number of parents seeking exemptions from school attendance vaccination requirements has been inching up . The rise has come despite unsettling outbreaks of some vaccine-preventable diseases that had nearly disappeared from the United States . ' I think we 're all kind of frustrated , ' said Stephen Morse , a Columbia University infectious disease expert . In West Africa scientists are warning that hard-to-treat areas that have already been hit by Ebola are now at risk of a measles outbreak . Ebola derailed child immunisations in Liberia , Sierra Leone and Guinea , leaving hundreds of thousands more children vulnerable to the more routine infections , researchers said . Measles epidemics often follow humanitarian crises because 'measles is so incredibly contagious , ' explained Johns Hopkins University epidemiologist Justin Lessler , who led the study published in the journal Science . 'Measles is not the only health threat that has been made worse by the Ebola crisis , and may not even be the most dire , but it is one we can do something about , ' he added . Measles is now very uncommon in the UK due to the effectiveness of the MMR vaccination , according to the NHS .
doctors offered reward to anyone who could prove measles virus existed . Doctor David Bardens sent him a comprehensive study on the virus . Sceptic Stefan ##ogist refused to pay 100,000euro reward he had promised . Doctor Bardens took the biologist to court and a Judge ruled in his favor . Lanka ordered to clean up after the doctor had fulfilled criteria of diagnosis .