At least 214 children have fallen ill to measles in the U.S., creating the largest U.S. outbreak of measles in 15 years. The cause of this outbreak is thought to from international travel and too many U.S. children are not vaccinated against measles. This outbreak should be startling to parents who have skipped the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine for their children and for individuals who travel abroad without the proper vaccinations.
This outbreak appears to be localized, due to the efficient effort of public health officials, who have entered the infected regions and initiated rapid containment and vaccination programs. But containment is an expensive process.
Before the development of an effective vaccine, from three to four million people contracted measles annually. About 48,000 people were hospitalized, 1,000 people were permanently disabled, and about 500 people died, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In recent years, the U.S. observed from 60 to 70 reported cases annually. This year represents a spike in reported numbers of 214 reported cases. Within the infected pool, 86 percent were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination statuses. 13 percent were under the age of one year old, meaning being too young for the vaccination. 47% of reported cases involved a U.S. citizen returning from Europe.
In Western Europe, Africa, and Asia, vaccination rates are lower much lower than in the U.S., so prevalence is higher. So when an unvaccinated person comes into contact with the virus, they are at risk for contraction of measles. Measles is very contagious and spreads quickly within unvaccinated communities.
In the United states, measles vaccination is about 90 percent.
The MMR vaccine is designed to protect against measles, mumps and rubella (German measles). It is administered to infants, 12 to 15 months old, with a second shot given when the child is four to six. Parents are responsible for having their children vaccinated against these diseases.
But with recent controversy, potentially linking the vaccine to increased autism risk, vaccination rates have decreased. Today, there is no concrete study results confirming any linkage.
One outbreak in the U.S. started with an unvaccinated high school student, contracting measles while he was abroad. As a result, nine people became infected, costing about $300,000 to contain the outbreak. Costs included infection control in two area hospitals and intervention by local and state health departments. In the outbreak, 12,000 people were contacted about possible exposure and quarantining 184 people, including 51 students.
A Canadian measles outbreak has 757 reported cases as of October 5th. The source of this outbreak was 18 people who traveled abroad. 505 of the 757 reported measles cases were unvaccinated or their vaccination status was not known. 70 reported cases had received only one doses of the vaccine.
