In order to understand the importance of the MMR vaccine, a short history of the measles illness, measles vaccine, some complications of the illness and a brief look at the prevalence of measles will be provided. This information was researched through the National University library search engine, more specifically smart search. Proquest central and academic search premier were the two research databases used to research the topics using the following key words or phrases: measles, measles vaccine, and MMR. The search engine Pubmed was also utilized with the following key phrases: measles immunosuppression, measles, and measles vaccine.
Measles History
Measles can be traced as far back as the 7th century in references and then the 10th century
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This initial presentation of an upper respiratory infection can lead to a delay in diagnosis of measles and increase the amount of people exposed the disease. The symptoms can vary in presentation and include fever, general feeling of malaise, conjunctivitis, and cough (Strebel et al., 2008). Fever is typical and may last up to one week; this fever may reach up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Before the rash appears, koplik spots or coryza may appear in the patient’s mouth. These spots have a characteristic appearance as tiny blue-white spots on the bright red background of the buccal mucosa (CDC, 2015). The characteristic red rash associated with the measles does not usually appear until 14 days after exposure. The patient is considered infectious up to four days before and four days after the rash appears. The rash normally starts out in the hairline and spreads down the face, along the trunk, and extremities. The rash eventually reaches the hands and feet. The rash may start out as spots, but may merge and appear as overall redness. The rash will fade in the reverse order it appeared. The maculopapular rash is characterized by flat, red areas on the skin and initially the skin may blanch with fingertip pressure (CDC, 2015). The illness will lasts approximately 7-21 days, dependent upon the
According to the Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine Preventable Diseases textbook aka “The Pink Book” (2015) which was produced jointly by the Communication and Education Branch, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Measles is a paramyxovirus with the primary site of infection in the nasopharynx. It has an incubation period of 10-12 days. The first symptoms to occur are fevers (increasing stepwise 103-105 degrees), cough, runny nose and conjunctivitis approximately 2-3 days after exposure and last 2-4 days. The second part of the infection occurs approximately 14 days after exposure; which is evidence by Koplik spots on the oral mucosa. Then, 1-2 days later, a maculopapular rash develops along the hair line, face,
(Center For Disease Control).Those at greatest risk for contracting the disease are individuals who do not vaccinate or children to young to receive the vaccine. Signs and symptoms of measles include high fevers up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, rash, cough, conjunctivitis and runny nose. Many other complications may evolve once a person is infected with measles some being otitis media and pneumonia. The infected person is contagious roughly about 4 days prior to the rash forming and for about 4-5 days after the rash disappears. Most people that have died from the disease did not die from measles but the complications of measles and secondary illnesses. (The History Of Vaccines).
Facts and figures available to study the epidemiological data for the outbreak of measles include gathering suspected and confirmed cases of this disease from the World Health Organization. This is done by gathering serum samples from all suspected cases to determine if a measles specific immunoglobulin antibody is detected. This particular disease lives in the nose and throat of the infected individual and is considered contagious for a period of four days before the rash appears and for a further four days after the sighting of the rash.
In early April 2013 a measles outbreak was discovered in North Carolina. By mid-May the outbreak had been identified in Stokes and Orange Counties via 23 active cases. Every case was linked back to a family that had spent 3 months in India and had not been vaccinated. By the 16th of April the state laboratory of Public Health was able to confirm the diagnosis, with the last known case being confirmed on May 7th. The investigation of this outbreak revealed 4 patients with a confirmed diagnosis that had received one of vaccination of the two part series. The other 19 cases had not ever been vaccinated.
It can transfer from person to person through coughing and sneezing since it lives in the throat and nasal cavity. The droplets of the disease can live up to 2 hours in the air. The victim can touch a contaminated surface then touch their eyes, mouth, nose, or breathe in the air and become infected. The infected person can be contagious four days prior or four days after the measles rash appears. (Measles)
In December of 2014, an outbreak of measles, which started in Disneyland, resulted in nearly two hundred people being sickened across the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The highly contagious respiratory disease spread for three months. Among those who contracted the illness, one developed severe pneumonia and multiple organ injury, while another suffered acute respiratory distress syndrome. So, why did an illness, which was purportedly eliminated sixteen years ago, experience a surge so dramatic that it caused more cases in 2014 than in the five preceding years combined? According to the CDC, the outbreak could be boiled down to one simple reason: “The majority of people were unvaccinated.” So while the California measles outbreak is a thing of the past, the fight to increase compliance with vaccinations continues. Although the benefits and safety of vaccinations are undisputed by the medical and scientific community, there are still sizeable groups of “anti-vaxxers” who refuse to vaccinate their children. These groups spread misconceptions, sometimes unknowingly, and become even more influential when coupled with the power of the internet and social media. Therefore, in order to increase compliance with routine vaccinations, the misconceptions of parents should be targeted, and legislation should be changed in order to prevent leniency and loopholes regarding vaccine exemptions.
Vaccines are very effective and have worked to help stop the spread of disease. Around 1960, the number of measles cases was at an all time high of almost 800,000. As seen in the graph below, once the vaccine for the measles was licensed, the number of cases dropped, and now today there are very few cases of the measles (Vaccines.gov para. 6). Another example is Rubella, which infected 12 ½million Americans, killed 2,000 babies, and caused 12,000 miscarriages in 1964 and 1965, but with the help of the vaccine, there was only 9 cases of rubella that were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2012 . The mumps vaccine has effectively prevented the spread of the mumps disease. In 1997, there were about 1,000 reported cases of the mumps and the number has continued to decrease, but in 1968 there were 150,000 cases of the mump reported.
Measles is an airborne disease that is spread through respiration (contact with fluids from an infected person's nose and mouth, either directly or through aerosol transmission (coughing or sneezing)), and is highly contagious—90% of people without immunity sharing living space with an infected person will catch it.[4] An asymptomatic incubation period occurs nine to twelve days from initial exposure. The period of infectivity has not been definitively established, some saying it lasts from two to four days prior, until two to five days following the onset of the rash (i.e., four to nine days infectivity in total), whereas others say it lasts from two to four days prior until the complete disappearance of the rash. The rash usually appears
Measles is a contagious infection caused by measles virus.The symptoms appear about 7 to 14 days after the person is infected . The initial symptoms include fever over 104F, cough, runny nose and inflamed eyes (conjunctivitis) . Afeter couple of days a white spots appier inside the mouth called Koplik spots and a red rash start in the face and then spreads to the rest of the body.
Measles Measles is a very uncomfortable and contagious disease also known as rubeola or morb and can lead to very serious body complications and are most likely to be spread through a developing country Measles has an easy group of symptoms to read. After about 9 to 11 days of being infected, including a fever over 38 degrees centigrade, discomfort, illness, lack of wellbeing, runny nose, dry cough, sore and red eyes, watery eyes, sensitive to light, red spots on the inside of the mouth and red blotches on the skin, face and hair line Measles is followed by an infection due to the horrible rubeola virus. The virus survives in the mucus of the nose and throat of an infected person. The disease stays contagious for around 4 days before the disease
a reddish bump known as Koplik's spots(Carson-DeWitt). Shortly after, the throat will become red, swollen, and sore(Carson-DeWitt). A couple of days after Koplik’s spots appear the actual measles rash begins, which progresses from the head, to the face and neck and to the trunk, and abdomen, next along the arms and legs(Carson-DeWitt). The rash appears to be flat, red patches, but eventually develops raised bumps. Once the rash starts to appear, the fever usually starts to climb higher reaching as high of 105 degrees fahrenheit(Carson-DeWitt). There may be vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, and swollen lymph nodes. Around this time the patient would be feeling awful. After 5 days the rash begins to fade, turns brown and starts to
To begin with , rash in measles start with rosy spots at the brow and the back of the ears , after that it extent along the neck , trunk , arms and lastly the legs as well as it might band together on the face . Moreover these noticeable diagnostic signs appear in 3 to 4 days , however this rash rarely itch . The most obvious sign that can be definite by doctors is Koplik’s spots which is very small white spots inside the kid’s mouth .
The Latin name for measles is rubeola. The pathogen which causes the disease is a paramyxovirus, which is one of a group of RNA (ribonucleic acid) viruses. Measles is a respiratory disease caused by a virus, and also comes out in a rash. The virus enters the body via the respiratory system, and grows in the cells at the back of the throat and in the cells that line the lungs, from there it then enters the blood stream and circulates the body.
The Mumps virus seems to have been around since ancient times. Research says that the virus has been documented or recorded by the Hippocrates in 5th century BCE (Mumps Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases). We give credit to Johnson and Goodpasture for helping determine how the virus is spread. This particular virus has been and still is known worldwide but became a reportable disease in the United States in 1968. The history behind the Mumps is not very detailed but today we are able to prevent this disease here in the US.