The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a cautionary advisory following a notable increase in measles cases, urging public health officials to prioritize measles vaccinations for children.
Dr. Edmund Milder, from Rady Children’s Hospital, emphasized the highly contagious nature of the measles virus, which can spread rapidly through airborne transmission. “If someone with measles walks into a room of 100 people who are not immune, 90 of those 100 people will get measles,” Dr. Milder warned.
Urgent Warning from Health Experts as Cases Spike in the US
According to the CDC, 58 cases of measles have been reported in 17 states so far this year, including California, matching the total number of cases reported in the entirety of 2023. San Diego County confirmed its first measles case of the year, involving an unimmunized 1-year-old who had recently traveled overseas and was subsequently hospitalized.
Alarmingly, 93% of this year’s measles cases have been linked to children aged 1 year or older who have not received their measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination. Traci Potter, a concerned parent, emphasized the importance of vaccination, stating, “Some parents worry about the aftereffects of vaccinations. I worry about my daughter getting something and then dying from it or not recovering correctly.”
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The Importance of Measles Vaccination Amid Resurgence
However, vaccination rates among kindergartners have shown a decline, dropping from 95% in 2019 to 93% at the beginning of 2022. This decrease has left approximately 250,000 kindergarteners susceptible to measles each year, posing significant risks to both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
Rosemary Morrison, a mother of a 2-year-old, highlighted the broader community implications of declining vaccination rates, stating, “It means for families that do vaccinate, it still increases the risk a bit and also for the whole community, it’s a bigger burden. People are going to get sick. Parents will get sick or other relatives.”
Dr. Milder emphasized the potential severity of measles infections, noting that complications such as inflammation of the brain or encephalitis, which can have permanent effects, occur in approximately 1 out of 1000 cases. Tragically, about 1 in 1000 individuals infected with measles may die from the virus.
The CDC recommends that children receive their first MMR vaccine dose between 12 to 15 months old, with the option to administer it as early as 6 months for those traveling internationally. As efforts to combat the measles resurgence intensify, vaccination remains a crucial measure to safeguard public health and prevent further outbreaks of this preventable disease.
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