Thread: More than 20 cases of measles in California due to 'unvaccinated children'

More than 20 cases of measles in California due to 'unvaccinated children'

Meghan Holohan TODAY contributor
March 31, 2014 at 1:03 PM ET

Video: Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC News’ chief medical editor, discusses a measles outbreak in Southern California and the symptoms of the illness.


A measles outbreak in Orange County in California, affecting 21 people is the most recent example of the return of the highly contagious viral illness.

“There have been 49 cases confirmed in the state so far this year,” Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC News’ chief medical editor told TODAY’s Natalie Morales. “Eight big pockets are accounting for 77 percent of cases in this country and there are two reasons: under-vaccinated children or unvaccinated children.”

Measles is a respiratory infection that causes fever, runny noses, and a rash. In some cases, it can lead to death. Reports of measles, once thought to be eradicated in the United States, have been increasing across the country and experts expect that more outbreaks will be seen. Officials in New York City and San Francisco have also seen cases.

Vaccinated people can carry the disease and when they come into contact with unvaccinated people these people contract the illness. Ninety percent of the time unvaccinated people get the illness, said Dr. Greg Wallace, Head of the Centers for Disease Control Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Polio team.

“It is the most contagious of the vaccinated diseases,” Wallace said.

Because there are few effective treatments for measles, vaccines are the best way to prevent it. Children should receive the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine between 12 to 15 months of age and a booster before they enter school between the ages of 2 to 4 years old, Wallace and Snyderman recommend. If adults are working with children or in health care or traveling — especially if they were born before 1989 when the second shot was required — they might want to receive a booster for additional protection.

“It’s certainly effective and it is certainly safe, but there can be side effects. Some small percentage, less than 10 percent, may get a mild fever and even a rash,” Wallace said, adding that the illness is far worse than the side-effects of the vaccine.

“The vaccine does work and these outbreaks don’t occur unless you have enough people who have not been vaccinated.”

If people suspect they have measles they should call the doctor’s office or emergency room ahead of time so the staff can prepare to isolate them to prevent further spread of the illness, Wallace said.

While there have not been any deaths in the United States due to measles in several years, Wallace said people died during an outbreak in France in 2011. Both Wallace and Snyderman stress the importance of vaccination.

“I want parents to be a little scared because 15 years ago, we thought we eradicated measles in this country. And we've seen an uptick. We shouldn’t fool ourselves,” Snyderman said.

http://www.today.com/health/more-20-...ren-2D79455508

14 of California's 32 measles cases this year were intentionally unvaccinated

Adrian Florido | March 18th, 2014, 5:22pm

Win McNamee/Getty Images

In this file photo, a student receives a vaccination at Carlin Springs Elementary School January 7, 2010 in Arlington, Virginia. California public health officials say the anti-vaccination movement could spark a resurgence of measles, since the unvaccinated are more susceptible to contracting it.

California public health officials say 19 of the 32 cases of measles they have confirmed so far this year are in people who had not been vaccinated, and of that group, 14 were intentionally not vaccinated.

As the number of measles cases continues to grow across the state — there were only three by this time last year — officials at the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) have urged parents against opting out of vaccinating their children. They say an increase in the number of people choosing not to vaccinate could drive a resurgence of the respiratory disease, since the unvaccinated are more susceptible to contracting it.

California allows parents to skip vaccinating their children if they fill out a personal belief exemption form and speak with a doctor about the benefits and risks of vaccines.

CDPH officials say 99 percent of the people who receive two doses of the measles vaccine develop immunity to the disease.

RELATED: Measles surge has health officials worried about vaccine refusers

It was last month that public health officials first identified seven measles patients as having been intentionally not vaccinated. They were between the ages of 7 and 32, said CDPH spokeswoman Kathleen Harriman.

"They were all minors other than two young adults," said Harriman

"And the young adults, it was their parents' decision, obviously, not to have them vaccinated when they were children."

CDPH officials could not immediately provide KPCC with the ages of the seven additional people it has determined were intentionally not vaccinated.

The 32 measles cases have been reported in Alameda (1), Contra Costa (4), Los Angeles (10), Orange (6), Riverside (5), San Mateo (1), San Diego (4) and Santa Clara (1) counties. The CDPH has not said where the 14 intentionally unvaccinated people live.

Measles was declared eliminated from the US in 2000, though a handful of new cases arise each year, usually from people who have traveled to countries where measles is common.

Ten of this year's cases involve people who traveled to the Philippines, where there is a large outbreak, or to India or Vietnam, where measles is endemic, health officials say. They have not clarified whether any of those people were vaccinated.

http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/03/18/...-unvaccinated/

Officials warn of possible measles exposure in San Juan County Blog-The Seattle Times (blog)-Mar 31, 2014

Measles outbreak in Hamilton came from the Philippines In-Depth-CBC.ca-30 minutes ago

Facts from New York measles outbreak:

Jean Weinberg, a spokesperson for the city health department, said eight of the 12 children in this outbreak were too young to be vaccinated or to be within the 12-15 month window when vaccination is recommended.
One child's vaccination status is unknown.
One child was 2 years old and had received one dose of MMR prior to exposure,
and two children were unvaccinated due to parental refusal.
Of the 13 adults, nine lacked documentation of prior vaccination. Four people had previously received the measles vaccine...

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...#ixzz2xmYS68Cz