Measles was declared eradicated in the United States in 2000. However, it has resurfaced with outbreaks internationally and in many states and caused a Seattle middle school to adopt remote learning.
Aki Kurose Middle School closed Friday after a student was reported to have measles. The school will reopen Monday through virtual learning.
Consequently, the Seattle case follows on the heels of recent outbreaks in Ohio and Minnesota.
Vaccinations Drop
The World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a joint alert in November about the rising threat of measles outbreaks.
The WHO/CDC warning reported that almost 40 million children are at risk for contracting measles. The reason, according to the alert – a decline in vaccinations.
About 25 million children missed their first measles shot and another 14.7 million did not get a second shot.
There were nine million measles cases reported in 2021. Of those, 128,000 resulted in death.
The rise in measles cases parallels the decline in vaccinations. Ironically, it was to focus on covid vaccinations that played a part in this decline.
“The paradox of the pandemic is that while vaccines against COVID-19 were developed in record time and deployed in the largest vaccination campaign in history, routine immunization programmes were badly disrupted, and millions of kids missed out on life-saving vaccinations against deadly diseases like measles,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Getting immunization programmes back on track is absolutely critical. Behind every statistic in this report is a child at risk of a preventable disease.”
What is Measles
Measles is one of the most contagious infections. In unimmunized children, nine out of 10 who come into contact with an infected person will contract the virus, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
In addition to unvaccinated children, people with immune system deficiencies are at high risk for contracting measles. That is because they can not receive a vaccine.
Vaccine Safety
In addition to the covid related interruption in immunization, some people have intentionally declined vaccinations over safety concerns. However, WHO, CDC and other medical institutions have given the all clear.
“The Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine is very safe, and it is effective at preventing measles, mumps, and rubella,” reports the CDC.
Noting that occasionally there are side effects from the vaccine, most are mild, according to the CDC. Conversely, the agency states that getting the vaccine is “much safer than getting measles, mumps, or rubella.”
Johns Hopkins Medical reports that 95 percent of children who get the first dose of MMR have lasting protection against measles. Furthermore, those who get the second shot 99 percent have lasting protection.
Cost of Measles
A generation exists that never had the measles vaccine. The first vaccine came out in 1963 and an improved version was perfected in 1968.
In the years before a vaccine 3 to 4 million people were infected in the United States. The resulting deaths totaled 500 to 600 annually. In addition, 1,000 people a year develop encephalitis (swelling of the brain) from the virus.
An outbreak of measles in 2019 provides an insight into the costs of treating the infection.
The journal Pediatrics, published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, examined the economic impact of a small outbreak in Clark County Washington.
Total cost relating to 72 cases of measles was $3.4 million. Those costs were incurred from December 31, 2018 to April 26, 2019.
Most of that expense, $2.3 million, went to public health efforts to contain the outbreak. That included screening over 4,000 people and quarantining 839. The cost of individual medical treatment totaled $76,000. Meanwhile, $1 million in productivity was lost.
Spotting Measles
Other than vaccination, the only way to guard against infection is to avoid those who have measles. That can be difficult since symptoms may not appear for as much as four days. Furthermore the virus can hang in the air or live on a surface as much as two hours after an infected person leaves a room.
To spot the infection, the CDC says to look for these signs:
high fever (may spike to more than 104° F),
cough
runny nose
red, watery eyes (conjunctivitis)
rash (3-5 days after symptoms begin)
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