Imagine you walked through an empty room and from that 5-second exposure contracted measles.
For the unprotected, thats a reality.
In fact, the carrier of the virus could have left the room a full two hours earlier and yet the seeds spread by a single cough or sneeze would remain potent enough to infect others.
Measles is so contagious that one infected person can infect up to 90% of those he comes in contact with, if not vaccinated. From start to finish, a person with measles is contagious across two to three weeks.
Before a vaccine was created in 1963, nearly all children in the U.S. contracted measles, with an average 400-500 succumbing each year. Severe complications of measles include encephalitis, swelling of the brain, resulting in possible deafness or brain damage.
By 1968, the vaccine had been improved and widely distributed, coupled with vaccines for mumps and rubella. By 2000, U.S. health officials declared measles eliminated thanks to implementation of the recommended two doses, considered good for life.
And everyone lived happily ever after.
If only.
A resurgence of the measles is occurring in the United States due, in part, to ill-informed parents exempting their children from the vaccines. And because people who refuse vaccines tend to group together, the danger increases when such pockets of the unvaccinated are exposed to the highly contagious virus. When that happens, the virus can become established, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.
Hundreds of cases have been popping up in New York and Washington state, according to the Associated Press. Also behind the increase is the fact that Americans often travel abroad to countries that dont widely promote the vaccine, including parts of Europe and Southeast Asia.
Across the world, more than 100,000 children age 5 and younger, have died from the measles.
Already this year, more than 555 cases have been declared in the U.S.
Those most in danger are those who cannot receive the vaccinations either because they are too young or have specific health conditions.
The recommended schedule is for the first vaccination to be administered to those 12 to 15 months, followed by a second dose between the ages of 4 and 6.
PUBLIC EDUCATION on the dangers of measles and other infectious diseases is critical to their containment. If you have questions, contact your family physician or those with the Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Departments at 620-365-2191.
Susan Lynn
