Measles Outbreak : Some Differing Views

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.

Thirty-nine (35%) of the California patients visited one or both of the two Disney theme parks during December 17–20, where they are thought to have been exposed to measles, 37 have an unknown exposure source (34%), and 34 (31%) are secondary cases. Among the 34 secondary cases, 26 were household or close contacts, and eight were exposed in a community setting. In addition, 15 cases linked to the two Disney theme parks have been reported in seven other states: Arizona (seven), Colorado (one), Nebraska (one), Oregon (one), Utah (three), and Washington (two), as well as linked cases reported in two neighboring countries, Mexico (one) and Canada (10).”(CDC, February 11, 2015)

Imagine traveling to the “Happiest Place on Earth”, Disneyland, with your family. While you are there a person that has not been vaccinated is walking around with the measles virus in their system. While that person shows no signs or symptoms of the measles, they are infecting others that haven’t been vaccinated, due to young age or other purposes. Now what turned out to be many people’s family vacations is now a life-threatening situation for some. This type of outbreak actually occurred during December of 2014, where 40 Californians were exposed to the measles at Disneyland and 91 additional cases of the outbreak strain also occurred from the people exposed affecting others (Blumberg et al, 2015). Outbreaks likes this can potentially be

It is common today for people to dismiss vaccinations because people think that vaccines are not needed in today’s society. Many people believe that since they have never seen anyone with these diseases that they do not need the vaccine; however, these diseases are not gone forever. When people do not get vaccinated there are major consequences possible. Cofounder of Autism Speaks, Bob Wright stated that if parents decided they do not want to vaccinate their children they need to think about how it will affect their communities and even their children’s schools.

Vaccinations have recently become a source of conflict as a result of misinformation. Studies that attempt to link vaccines to autism diagnoses, reports of children getting sick and rumors spread by conspiracy theorists contribute to the mess of confusion that should have a simple answer. The spread of misinformation can easily sway an uncertain parent away from the right choice. Ultimately these lies harm the child who is needlessly susceptible to potentially fatal diseases that could have been prevented by a visit to a doctor. Parents should be required to vaccinate their children because vaccinations protect ourselves and future generations from the unnecessary risk of preventable disease.

A measles outbreak occurred in a small Somali community in Minnesota over the past week. Misinformation about the topic of vaccination is a huge reason behind the sudden plague. The somalis’ fear that their children will have autism due to autism cases in the Minneapolis area in 2008. Vaccination rates have decreased in the area from 92 percent to 42 percent. A mother of three, all of whom are unvaccinated, is unable to send her children to daycare in order to insure the other kids do not contract measles “protecting the herd.” The Minnesota Department of Health is now having to consult the families in order to reconfirm their doubts of vaccinating their children. The same case is occurring across our river in Italy, the country just reported an epidemic of measles numbers which have increased since the

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.

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.

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

The resistance to vaccines is worldwide, but alone in the U.S., we experienced 23 measles outbreaks in 2014, including one large outbreak of 383 cases, occurring primarily among unvaccinated Amish communities in Ohio. From January 1 to October 16, 2015, 189 people from 24 states and the District of Columbia were reported to have measles. The majority of people who got measles were unvaccinated.

Vaccination rates in the United States have suffered declines in recent years due largely to parents' fears about possible effects on their children. This has led to a resurgence in children's diseases that had been suppressed through decades of high vaccination rates. Childhood immunizations are beneficial because they prevent the acquisition and spread of dangerous infectious diseases, they protect immunocompromised children that cannot otherwise be vaccinated (such as those with autoimmune issues), and the benefits far outweigh any perceived risks. In January 2015, the CDC reported an outbreak of measles in that was 99% preventable, and which continues to spread.

These drops in the measles rates are primarily thanks to vaccination. While the measles we vaccinate against have declined, they haven’t disappeared. If we stop vaccinating for measles, measles can and will return, all it takes is one unvaccinated child. “Vaccines undergo rigorous safety testing prior to being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are continually monitored for

The current measles epidemic began in early 2015, and has gone through the end of the year. By late December, the number of new cases was declining and the situation seems to be improving. The government does not appear to have done much to solve the issue, but there are several organizations in the area that are involved in the crisis. They have been working to vaccinate children and treat those who have been infected. Many people and institutions around the world have also donated money in response to the situation.

Audience hook: In 2014, the U.S experienced a record number of cases of measles, mostly from the Philippines. Most were unvaccinated and most were from international travel.