WASHINGTON — In the first seven months of 2011, there have already been 156 reported cases of measles in the U.S., three times the average of prior years.
The nationwide spike is caused by a measles outbreak in Europe, said Jane Seward, a director in the immunization department at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Americans travel abroad to countries like France, Italy and the U.K., which have seen almost 15,000 cases combined so far in 2011. Those who choose not to vaccinate can bring the disease back to their communities. Because of this, the National Foundation for Infectious Disease tagged measles as a looming threat for this year in a webinar on Tuesday.
“Diseases of the past aren’t in the past anymore,” said Dr. Gregory Poland of the Mayo Clinic during the webinar.
Measles is a viral infection characterized by an all-over red rash and flu-like symptoms, according to Nemour’s Kid’s Health website. It is highly contagious, spread just like the common cold through droplets in the air. Children who have not been vaccinated and infants under a year old who are too young to receive the vaccination are at high risk of infection.
The best way keep a community safe is to vaccinate everyone, said Poland. When some choose not to receive the vaccination, however, they put everyone in danger.
“They are an increased risk, so others around them are at increased risk of exposure as well,” Seward said.
Megan Campbell learned this first hand when her 10-month-old baby was infected in a doctor’s office by an unvaccinated 7-year-old who had just returned from Switzerland. Her story of how her baby’s temperature reached 106 degrees is on the CDC website.
A dip in vaccination rates in the U.K. is what caused measles outbreaks to come back in parts of Europe. Though vaccination coverage in the U.S. remains high, around 90 to 95 percent, a drop in vaccination rates because of safety concerns could lead to more outbreaks of measles.
“We don’t want to see happen here what happened in the U.K. with measles re-establishing ongoing transmission because people decide not to vaccinate,” Seward said.
People’s decision not to vaccinate is often linked to safety concerns and the possible link between autism and the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. However “given the present state of the science, the proven benefits of vaccinating a child to protect them against serious diseases outweigh the hypothesized risk that vaccinations might cause autism,” according to a statement from Autism Speaks.
Both representatives from Autism Speaks and Seward from the CDC emphasize that if parents have any concerns, they should find a pediatrician that they trust with whom they can discuss the issue.