A 1-year-old receives the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in California where cases have been tied to an outbreak at Disneyland. Measles infections have been reported in 14 states. Liane Jollon, executive director of San Juan Basin Health Department, recommends everyone get their MMR vaccinations.Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press
Measles is back – and you should be worried, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which is urging vaccinations.
Liane Jollon, executive director of San Juan Basin Health Department, said because of low rates of vaccination, the danger posed by measles – a deadly disease that doctors declared all but eliminated in the United States in 2000 – is newly imminent.
“We are in the midst of what is defined as an outbreak,” she said. “There are 102 cases currently in the U.S., with measles infections reported in 14 states.”
Already, a case of measles has been reported in Denver.
Last week, The Denver Post reported Colorado ranks at the bottom nationally for kindergartners vaccinated for measles, at just under 82 percent.
Data released last year by Durango School District 9-R suggests local children – and therefore, all La Plata County residents – are vulnerable to an outbreak.
Indeed, numbers compiled by Julie Popp, school district spokeswoman, show that no Durango schools achieved herd immunity – the safety standard accepted by public health experts – last year.
For highly contagious airborne diseases such as measles, herd immunity requires 95 percent of a community be vaccinated.
But even local schools with the highest rates of vaccination – Durango High School, Big Picture High School and Needham Elementary School, where 92 percent to 93 percent of children were vaccine-compliant – fell just short of herd immunity for measles and pertussis.
Ninety percent to 91 percent of students at Sunnyside, Florida Mesa, Fort Lewis Mesa and Park elementary schools had received legally required vaccinations.
Only 89 percent of the children attending Animas Valley Elementary, 87 percent of Miller Middle School, 85 percent of Riverview Elementary and 84 percent of Escalante Middle School students were vaccinated.
In an email, Popp said that immunization records for 2015 are being compiled, “so we don’t have that data right now.”
Though this year’s vaccination data isn’t yet available, Jollon said any parents who want to keep their children safe would want to have that information – now.
To feel safe, she said, “I would certainly want to know that.”
Though children attending Colorado public school are legally required to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, many parents avoid compliance by claiming an exemption, meaning they object to vaccines on medical, religious or philosophical grounds.
In Colorado, the majority of exemptions that parents claim are philosophical.
In the last decade, the anti-vaccine movement has been roundly discredited. The 1998 scientific paper that originally linked vaccines to autism has been retracted, and its author, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, has been disavowed by the medical community. Still, it enjoys the support of some celebrity spokespeople such as Jenny McCarthy, a former Playboy model who has 1.2 million Twitter followers and no advance degrees in science.
Jollon said last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the highest number of measles infections in the last two decades.
“I think 2014 was our largest number of measles cases in probably 20 years. And already, this year, we’re on track to surpass 2014,” she said.
Jollon urged everyone to “get their MMRs.”
“What we know is that prior to 1963, when there was no measles vaccine, pretty much all kids got the measles. There were millions of cases a year, and of them, hundreds died – guaranteed. It’s important for people to understand that: Vaccines are an opportunity; they help you,” she said.
Why you should – and shouldn’t – worry about measles
NEW YORK – Measles has become relatively rare in the United States because of a very effective vaccine. A recent outbreak tied to Disneyland has shown that even among some doctors, knowledge of the once-common illness is spotty.
Some questions and answers about a still-dangerous disease that’s re-emerged as a leading public health concern:
How dangerous is measles?
For most people, measles is miserable but not life-threatening. The most common symptoms include fever, runny nose, cough and a rash all over the body. However, a very small fraction of people get much sicker and can suffer complications like pneumonia and encephalitis. Before there was a vaccine, about 450 to 500 Americans died from measles each year, on average. Also, measles can cause pregnant women to have premature, fragile babies.
How is measles spread?
Measles is considered one of the most infectious diseases known. The virus is spread through the air when someone infected coughs or sneezes. It can live up to two hours in the air or on the surfaces of a room afterward. It’s so contagious that 90 percent of people who aren’t immunized are infected if exposed to the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
How well does the vaccine work?
Health officials say the vaccine is 97 percent effective; people who are vaccinated can still get the measles, although it’s usually a mild case. The vaccine was licensed in the United States in 1963, and as more children were vaccinated, cases plummeted. About a decade ago, the nation was down to fewer than 100 cases a year. In 2000, measles was declared eliminated – no longer constantly spreading in the country.
Who should be vaccinated?
The government recommends that all children get the measles vaccine with the first dose when they are about 1 and a second dose between the ages of 4 and 6. The CDC guidance is based on advice from a panel of experts that decides which vaccines are needed and when. Following that guidance, states have made vaccination a requirement for attending school.
Do most parents get their kids vaccinated?
Yes, and the rates have been fairly stable. Overall, 95 percent of children entering kindergarten are vaccinated. But in a number of states, a rising number of parents have filed for exemptions to vaccination requirements. Some are for medical reasons, but many are for religious or philosophical reasons. Some of those involve doubts that the vaccine is necessary. Others fear that the vaccine can cause autism – a concern sparked by a study published in a British medical journal in 1998. That paper was later retracted and thoroughly discredited. Other studies have found no link. The new outbreak has spurred a backlash against vaccination holdouts.
So if measles was eliminated in the U.S., why are we seeing cases now?
Measles is still a big problem in some other parts of the world, and travelers infected abroad can bring the virus into the country and spread it. That’s what California health officials think happened at Disneyland amusement park, although they haven’t found the person who triggered the outbreak. The last several years have seen more and more of that. Last year, 644 measles infections were reported in 27 states, the most since 1994. More than half of the cases were in an Amish community in Ohio; missionaries brought measles back from the Philippines.
I’m an adult. Do I need a shot?
Most likely not. Anyone born before 1957 is thought to be immune because measles was so widespread, and most kids got it. Adults who got the vaccine as kids are OK, too – they are protected for life. However, there was a less-effective vaccine from 1963 to 1967. Anyone who got that vaccine or those who aren’t sure they were ever vaccinated can get the shots now.
On the Net
More about the measles: www.cdc.gov/measles/about/faqs.html
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