The Measles Outbreak is So Two Years Ago
Winter is rough for a lot of people. It’s cold, it’s dark, and the snow and rain certainly don’t improve matters. As if that wasn’t enough, it’s the time of year where everyone seems to get sick. No matter what antibiotics you stock up on or how carefully you avoid anyone you see sniffling, there’s no escaping the myriad of diseases being passed around. To make matters worse, an old disease is making a new comeback...the measles.
It may seem like an illness from a bygone era, but the measles came roaring back with a vengeance this year. According to the Center for Disease Control, there were 175 reported cases in 2013 – 20 of which had to be hospitalized due to the severity of the infection. That’s three times the average number of cases the CDC usually deals with in the same amount of time. 175 might seem like a small number compared to the overall population of the country, but when you consider how easily spread measles is the situation becomes much more serious. After all, this is a disease that has been classified as "officially eliminated" throughout the Western world. So what brought it back?
The answer is vaccines; or, to be more accurate, a lack of vaccines. Of those found infected by the measles, 98% were unvaccinated. The measles virus is typically avoided by administering a vaccine to children, but some people have opted to follow recent health fads that forgo vaccinations. Rumors and false reports that the measles vaccine caused autism in children (which was thoroughly debunked by doctors) led to some parents opting against getting their offspring inoculated. The end result is the outbreak of a disease that was virtually eradicated from the United States from 2000 through 2011.
“This isn’t the failure of a vaccine; it’s the failure to vaccinate,” CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden said in a press release. “Around 90% of the people who have had measles in this country were not vaccinated either because they refused, or were not vaccinated in time.”
Another factor in the measles outbreak is travel. Of the 175 reported cases in 2013, the CDC noted that 172 contracted the illness while overseas. Because the virus is so common overseas, anyone traveling who has not received a vaccine is vulnerable to infection – and then becomes a danger to other unvaccinated individuals. Add in the fact that measles is highly contagious, and the problem only grows.
“A measles outbreak anywhere is a risk everywhere,” Freiden explained in his public statement. “The steady arrival of measles in the United States is a constant reminder that deadly diseases are testing our health security every day.”
This all sounds very grave, but the solution is remarkably easy: get vaccinated. The CDC is urging people to keep up on all their vaccines, particularly children. Two doses of medication, and the problem is basically solved. And if you suspect you’re coming down with the measles, seek out a doctor immediately.
“This is an eminently controllable, eminently eliminatable childhood viral infection,” infectious disease expert Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine told USA Today.
[Pic via Wikimedia Commons - CDC/NIP/Barbara Rice]
