This spring, the U.S. has seen the largest outbreak of measles in recent memory. As of this past week, the total of confirmed cases has reached 839 for the year, with 75 added the week of May 3rd. Many of these cases are in Rockland County, New York, where officials are battling an outbreak of the disease in a largely Orthodox Jewish community. In New York, officials are beginning to issue summonses for violations of a recent Emergency Order. These individuals failed to receive vaccinations for the disease, a critical part of New York’s plan to stop the outbreak.

In my last article about this issue, I discussed the importance of vaccination and my own thoughts on this issue (see here). But why is defense against measles so important? Why can’t this disease be treated like a common cold? In short, measles is extremely contagious and very deadly in young children. It will cause general flu symptoms (fever, dry cough, runny nose, sore throat), as well as a very distinctive rash. It is imperative that this outbreak is stopped by wide-scale vaccination of the non-vaccinated. If this does not occur, it is increasingly likely that a child may not survive this terrible disease.

References:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/13/health/measles-update-cdc-800-cases/index.html

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/measles/symptoms-causes/syc-20374857