It seems like a small number–107 kids in 21 states with measles–but the year is only a little more than half over. (There were 118 cases in 2017 and 86 the year before, according to the CDC.) But measles spreads so easily. In fact, you can get it if you enter a room within two hours after a person with the disease has been there, because that’s how long it stays in the air.
Measles hadn’t been a problem since the introduction of inoculations for it. So why are the numbers of cases increasing? Because the number of unvaccinated people is rising. Yes, some of those people come from other countries, but more people right here are refusing to have their children vaccinated.
Be sure to ask your child’s school or daycare center if they require that the children under their care be vaccinated. Some charter/private schools do not. And keep your kids’ vaccinations up-to-date. Don’t take a chance with the health of your child and family.
Thanks for the nice list!
You’re welcome.
In 2017, 118 people from 15 states and the District of Columbia were reported to have measles. In 2016, 86 people from 19 states were reported to have measles. In 2015, 188 people from 24 states and the District of Columbia were reported to have measles. In 2014, the United States experienced a record number of measles cases, with 667 cases from 27 states reported to CDC s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD); this is the greatest number of cases since measles elimination was documented in the U.S. in 2000.
Thanks for the additional info. We can’t afford to think of measles (or polio, for that matter) as being part of our PAST.