Measles was declared eradicated from the United States in 2000,
but a recent report by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says
that the infection is on the rise once more.
Just last year the largest recording of measles cases was recorded in 15
years. The report stated that 222 cases
of measles were reported and 17 measles outbreaks were reported in 2011. The report also showed that from the 222
cases recorded 50% of them were related to the 17 outbreaks and 90% were
associated with importations from foreign countries. The last time a high case of the measles was
seen was in 1996, with a report of 508 cases.
The CDC stated, “Each case of the measles is treated with rapid and
intensive investigation to ensure the highly contagious virus does not spread
within the community”. According to Dr.
Anne Schacht “you can catch measles just by being in a room with someone with
measles has been, even if they have left”.
The CDC is very concerned about the outbreak, even though none of the
cases has resulted in death. They also
believe that low vaccination rates in Europe have fueled the outbreak and they
urge Americans to get an update on their measles vaccine, especially if they
are about to travel out of the country.
Most measles cases occur in unvaccinated patients. Many people believe that the measles is a
disease of the past and they don not need to vaccinate themselves, but the
disease is still present worldwide.
About 20 million people get the measles each year on a global scale, and
the majority of American citizens who contract the virus are travelers coming
from Europe. Already in 2012, 25 cases
of the measles have been reported.
Even though measles seems like a disease from the past, especially
to those of us who grew up learning about it that way that does not mean it is
gone. It is still very prevalent on a
global scale and the only reason the United States got to declare it as
eliminated in 2000 was because the majority of our citizens were well
vaccinated against the virus. People
still need to be vaccinated against the disease that is the only way to ensure
ones own safety, and the rest of societies.
Those who travel abroad especially need to make sure that they are
vaccinated because the rest of the world is not as highly protected against the
virus as we are. With the recent
increase in resistant-strain bacteria that has been evolving people should definitely
take the time to get vaccinated. Those
who are not vaccinated are not only putting their own lives in danger, but they
are also providing a place for the disease to grow and potentially mutate into
a yet another resistant strain. In the
past measles has been responsible for wiping out massive amounts of people in a
population, and if precaution is not taken it could strike again. Maybe not to the full potential that it did
in past histories, but the threat is ever present. In 2009 when it caused in outbreak in South
Africa the government made it mandatory that all of its citizens be
vaccinated. This decision should be
taken into consideration by other governments around the world, especially
those in Europe.
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