According to a story in the New York Times, cases of measles in the US have surpassed 700 in the year of 2019 so far. Regarded as the most serious outbreak of the viral disease in decades, the situation has many health officials fearing that the disease could begin to gain a significant foothold in the country once again. The majority of cases are in children that have not been vaccinated. Though not generally rare, measles is effectively a rare disease in the United States, where just a few years ago health officials declared the disease effectively eliminated. Thankfully, no deaths have been recorded so far.
About Measles
Measles is an infectious disease caused by a virus and is widely regarded as one of the most contagious of all diseases. The disease is easily spread from person to person and symptoms generally begin around 10-12 days following exposure to the measles virus. These symptoms include a high degree, four day fever (around 104° F), a red rash, cough, head cold, and red eyes. Some complications such as diarrhea, pneumonia, and bronchitis may appear. More rare complications include subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, seizures, and encephalitis. Treatment for an already infected patient often includes pain relievers such as ibuprofen, cough medicine, and vitamin A. The disease can be prevented with the use of a vaccine. When serious complications appear, measles can be a lethal disease. To learn more about measles, click here.
Why So Many Cases?
Before the appearance of the measles vaccine, there were millions of cases in the US every year. Now the 700 cases recorded this year is regarded as abnormally high. The primary reason for this increase in cases is that it is increasingly more likely for there to be areas with unvaccinated children. This can partially be explained by the fact that there are an increasing number of people who are opposed to childhood vaccinations due to unfounded beliefs that they can lead to other medical problems or changes, such as autism. To be clear, there is not scientifically valid evidence to support such claims and the measles vaccine along with all others is regarded as safe by the medical community.
Certain religious groups such as the Amish and Orthodox Jews are less likely to vaccine their children, and several Orthodox Jewish schools in the New York area were closed after they continued to allow unvaccinated children to attend. Fears about the impact of vaccines are also more common among historically marginalized ethnic groups, whose fears at least are more understandable considering the history of abuse and neglect from the medical system towards them.
With that being said, getting your children vaccinated is the best way to curtail the resurgence of this once widespread infectious disease.
