ABOUT MEASLES
- Measles is a childhood infection caused by a virus. Once quite common, measles can now almost always be prevented with a vaccine. Signs and symptoms of measles include cough, runny nose, inflamed eyes, sore throat, fever and a red, blotchy skin rash.
- Also called rubeola, measles can be serious and even fatal for small children. While death rates have been falling worldwide as more children receive the measles vaccine, the disease still kills more than 100,000 people a year, most under the age of 5.
- Measles is a highly contagious virus. When someone with measles coughs, sneezes or talks, infected droplets spray into the air, where other people can inhale them. The infected droplets may also land on a surface, where they remain active and contagious for several hours. Measles signs and symptoms appear 10 to 14 days after exposure to the virus.
- Call your doctor if you think you or your child may have been exposed to measles or if you or your child has a rash resembling measles. Review your family's immunization records with your doctor, especially before starting elementary school, before college and before international travel.
Source: MayoClinic.org
VACCINATING AGAINST MEASLES IN GEORGIA
Georgia’s vaccination rate has been rising, according to the most recent national data.
In 2013, at least 94 percent of Georgia kindergartners were fully vaccinated against measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough. That puts Georgia roughly on par with the national median. And it’s an increase from 10 years earlier, when about 92 percent of kindergartners were vaccinated against a similar list of diseases.
There are two ways Georgia parents can opt their children out of vaccination: submitting a statement swearing that vaccination conflicts with their religious beliefs, or having a doctor certify that one or more vaccines would hurt the child’s health.
Source: AJC analysis of state and national data
VACCINATING AGAINST MEASLES IN GEORGIA
Georgia’s vaccination rate has been rising, according to the most recent national data.
In 2013, at least 94 percent of Georgia kindergartners were fully vaccinated against measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough. That puts Georgia roughly on par with the national median. And it’s an increase from 10 years earlier, when about 92 percent of kindergartners were vaccinated against a similar list of diseases.
There are two ways Georgia parents can opt their children out of vaccination: submitting a statement swearing that vaccination conflicts with their religious beliefs, or having a doctor certify that one or more vaccines would hurt the child’s health.
Source: AJC analysis of state and national data
The number of measles cases continues to grow following an outbreak at Disneyland that began in December.
From Jan. 1 to Jan. 30, 102 people were reported to have measles from 14 states, but there have been no reported cases in Georgia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CBS News has reported health officials in Arizona are keeping tabs on 1,000 people, including nearly 200 children who could have been exposed to measles at a Phoenix-area medical center.
Most of the people infected were unvaccinated against the disease, including kids who were too young for the shots and those deciding against vaccination. But with at least five of the cases involving people who obtained their measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, many are left wondering if shots provide lifelong protection or whether a booster shot may be in order.
“We don’t need to be alarmists. We need to be aware,” Dr. Pat O’Neal, director of Health Protection at the Georgia Department of Public Health, said about this latest outbreak. “Immunization is still our best protection against many diseases. What happened in Disneyland is an alert that we live in a world now in which international travel is very common and frequent, and diseases are only hours away.”
O’Neal and other experts say this latest outbreak is a reminder of the importance of keeping immunizations up to date.
The CDC recommends generally, people age 18 or older who were born after 1957 consider getting at least one dose of MMR vaccine unless they have records showing that they have either been vaccinated, or had all three diseases. If you are traveling to California, for example, or traveling overseas, O’Neal suggested talking to your primary doctor about whether your immunizations are up to date, and if you are unsure, consider obtaining a blood test to check to make sure you have adequate antibodies.
For those immunized as children, the chances of getting measles now are extremely slim, and if you do happen to get the virus, it will likely be a very mild case, he said.
Measles is a highly infectious disease that can swiftly spread when an infected person coughs, sneezes or shares food. The measles virus can live up to two hours on a hard surface. Complications can include ear infections and pneumonia. About 1 in 1,000 people with measles develops encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain that may cause vomiting, convulsions, and even death.
In 2002, the United States declared that measles had been eliminated. But health officials say cases introduced by foreign travelers continue to infect unvaccinated people. The country is seeing an uptick as a growing number of parents opt out of vaccinations because of safety concerns about the vaccine, or about the number of vaccines their child receives, and worries about vaccines possibly triggering a developmental disorder such as autism. While research linking vaccines to autism has been soundly discredited, experts say this latest outbreak underscores the importance of dispelling misinformation and fear about vaccines.
In the United States, the current recommended measles regimen is to give children a first dose of vaccine at 12 to 15 months of age, and a second dose at 4 to 6 years of age. It is also highly recommended all women of childbearing age who do not have immunity to measles receive the vaccine before pregnancy. As with many vaccines, the MMR vaccine works with the immune system to build up protection by putting a small amount of the virus into the body. The MMR vaccine is a mixture of live, weakened viruses from measles, mumps and rubella.
One dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is about 95 percent effective. A second dose bumps it to 98 percent.
People born before 1957 are usually considered immune to measles because they likely either had measles as a child or were exposed to the virus.
There have been very few documented cases of measles in Georgia, including one case in 2010 and two people in 2012. Last year through Sept. 29, the U.S. had 594 reported cases of measles and 18 outbreaks, the highest number of documented cases since 2000. None of the cases was in Georgia, according to the CDC.
Dr. Walter Orenstein, associate director of the Emory Vaccine Center and professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, said public health authorities and doctors need to renew their attention to measles and better educate the public about the safety and effectiveness of vaccinations. Measles outbreaks, he said, can be costly and harmful not only to children whose parents decided against vaccination but also to other children who are too young or unable to be vaccinated.
“Despite the overwhelming evidence that vaccines — including the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine — are safe, too many people still believe that there is greater risk posed by vaccinating over not vaccinating,” he said.
“It is frustrating. … This is one of the safest vaccines against a disease that can be significant. There is no reason to take a chance.”
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