I find it scary to think about the number of measles cases in the - TopicsExpress



          

I find it scary to think about the number of measles cases in the US right now. We have not really had to think about this disease really for my whole lifetime. I had no idea it is such a serious disease & so highly contagious! The chance of survival with measles is not very good. And in the US most ALL cases are from people who choose not to get vaccinated.. The United States successfully eradicated the measles—meaning that despite occasional outbreaks, measles doesnt move through the population continuously—theres no guarantee it will stay that way. Thats what happened in the United Kingdom, where measles was wiped out but is now endemic again. It can definitely come back, Meissner told me. And then because this is probably the most infectious of all the known viruses or illnesses—we say that about 90 percent of people who are not immune and who are exposed to measles will get it—thats a higher number than for any illness, even influenza. Its one of the most infectious or transmissible viruses that were aware of. The vast majority of our cases every single year are unvaccinated people who choose not to be vaccinated. Measles is already one of the leading causes of death among young children worldwide. About 400 people die from the virus each day—thats about 16 deaths every hour, according to the WHO. Its a very severe disease, Meissner told me. Its not a mild illness like mumps or even chickenpox. This is a much more severe sort of illness. Even those who survive the virus can suffer brain swelling, pneumonia, deafness, and other permanent complications. And in the United States, measles seems to be making a comeback. Today there are 67 confirmed measles cases in the United States, most of them linked to Disneyland in California. This puts the United States on pace to eclipse incidences of measles in 2014, which was already the worst year for measles since 1994, when there were 958 cases reported to the CDC. Last year there were 644 cases of measles reported in 27 states.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 01:12:41 +0000

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