If you are a parent, Please make sure your children are vaccinated. In this week's issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, (no, I am not joking), the Centers for Disease Control report that there has been a sudden increase in the number of measles cases reported this year. The cumulative number since January 1 stands at 118 . Hospitalization rates were highest among infants and children aged <5 years (52%), but rates also were high among children and adults aged ≥5 years (33%).
This increase is of course due to two things, globalization of the economy, and failure to vaccinate all of our children. Of these 118 cases, 46 were imported, mainly from Europe and Southeast Asia, the rest were home grown. "The largest outbreak occurred among 21 persons in a Minnesota population in which many children were unvaccinated because of parental concerns about the safety of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. That outbreak resulted in exposure to many persons and infection of at least seven infants too young to receive MMR vaccine (4)."
Measles is not a harmless childhood malady, it is a serious viral infection, highly contagious, and can lead to life threatening complications. It is completely preventable. Why would you take this chance? So I reiterate, vaccinate your children! Everything else is just commentary.
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