Like a lot of diseases, it starts with a fever, a runny nose, and a cough. The fever might be a little high and your eyes might be a little red, but the usual suspects are the cold or the flu. The red spots and rash that start on the face are the real indication that it’s something more serious: measles. Measles is a very infectious respiratory virus that can become quite serious, leading to pneumonia, encephalitis (brain swelling), or death usually in small children. There’s no real treatment, just get some rest and it should clear up on its own.
By now you’ve probably heard of the measles outbreak at Disneyland beginning at the end of December and carrying into 2015. Long story short, someone infected with measles visited the happiest place on Earth on December 28 and the cases spread from there. Measles is no longer naturally in the U.S., eliminated in 2000. Health officials believe that “patient zero” brought in measles from somewhere else.
Measles is incredibly contagious, easily spread by coughing–90% of people around you can get infected if they’re not protected. In fact, measles can hang suspended in the air for a long time, so you can be exposed to the virus hours after the infected person has coughed in the vicinity. Since you’re contagious for about eight days, starting four days before the rash appears, it’s no wonder it spreads so quickly. I also visited Disneyland at the end of December, and while I’m up to date with my vaccinations, it’s a little scary to know how I might have come in contact with measles.
Image Source: South_agency
Protection, thankfully, is easy and most people have it. The MMR vaccine is supposed to be administered in two parts in childhood, although rising numbers of personal belief exemptions have led to lower percentages of vaccinated people. With how contagious measles is, up to 95% of people must be vaccinated in order for herd immunity to be effective. A school district in Marin, one of the counties with a high personal belief exemption rate, has recently voted to end their exemption in light of the measles outbreak, so it looks like some progress is being made.
As of February 9, there are 123 cases in California. On February 13, the CDC stated there were 141 cases in 17 states.
Feature Image Source: Mike
