The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans on Thursday (January 29) to get vaccinated for measles amid an outbreak that began at Disneyland in December, saying that 2014 saw the highest number of cases in two decades.
So far more than 90 people have been diagnosed with measles in California and elsewhere, most of them linked to an outbreak that public health officials suspect began when an infected person from outside the United States visited Disneyland in Anaheim between Dec. 15 and Dec. 20.
Health officials warn that people may be infected with the disease for up to two weeks before they realize it,” said Fresno Dr. Bruce Hensel.
“Measles may not show up until 2 weeks after you are exposed,” Hensel said.
The outbreak has local residents worried.
“It’s scary out there, especially when you have little ones,” said Fresno resident Lupe Rodriguez.
On Wednesday, a high school in Palm Desert, California, barred dozens of non-vaccinated students from school over concerns that a classmate may have contracted the highly contagious disease.
Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000 but officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta said the disease could still easily be brought in by a traveler from abroad and warn that the outbreak is a wake-up call to the country.
The outbreak has renewed debate over the so-called anti-vaccination movement in which fears about potential side effects of vaccines, fueled by now-debunked theories suggesting a link toautism, have led a small minority of parents to refuse to allow their children to be inoculated.
San Francisco Dr. Richard Goldsby said it was crucial that parents realize the importance of having their children vaccinated.
“People should be educated and understand when they don’t have their children vaccinated it doesn’t just effect their child it effects many other children.”
Officials in some areas are trying to fix the problem. Representative MIke Frieberg in Minnesotahas introduced a bill that would tighten the rules on vaccinations.
“The way Minnesota law is written it could allow for too many exemptions,” said Frieberg. “This bill doesn’t just get rid of the exemption requirements. It just says if you do choose not to vaccinate your children then you have to speak to a health professional, doctor or nurse.”
Homegrown measles, whose symptoms include rash and fever, was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000. But health officials say cases imported by travelers from overseas continue to infect unvaccinated U.S. residents.
The sometimes deadly virus, which is airborne, can spread swiftly among unvaccinated children.
There is no specific treatment for measles and most people recover within a few weeks. But in poor and malnourished children and people with reduced immunity, measles can cause serious complications including blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhea, ear infection and pneumonia.
NBC/Reuters
