Measles outbreaks show importance of MMR vaccinations
By Sheldon H. Jacobson and Dr. Janet A. Jokela / For the Chicago Tribune
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported an uptick in the number of measles cases around the nation since early December. If the pace of infections continues to follow this trajectory, 2024’s total will top the surge of 667 cases reported in 2014, or even the 1,274 cases reported in 2019. Should we be concerned?
One perception among some people is that measles is just another innocuous infectious disease that children contract, characterized by fever and a rash. The actual risks to children in contracting measles are much greater.
The CDC reports that on the order of up to 3 in 1,000 infected children will die from respiratory and neurologic complications. To put this into perspective, if every child 1 to 4 years old in the nation became infected, and the mortality rate was 1 in 1,000 children, then around 14,000 of these children would die from the disease.
By comparison, around 3,800 children ages 1 to 4 die every year. The leading causes of death in this age group are accidents, genetic and developmental conditions present at birth, and homicides. Without protection against measles, the disease could quickly become the leading cause of death in this age group.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-measles-outbreaks-show-importance-of-mmr-vaccinations/
= new reply since forum marked as read
