Measles has been all over the news the last few weeks. This is remarkable because in the year 2000, measles was declared ‘eliminated’ in the United States. This meant that it was no longer continuously circulating in our population. This achievement was the result of a very effective vaccine and a very effective vaccination program in this country.

Nowadays, measles occurs in outbreak situations and almost entirely due to importation of measles from other countries. In the U.S. measles arises due to foreign travel by U.S. residents who bring the disease home and through residents of other countries visiting the U.S. Measles is still common in many parts of the world including some countries in Europe, Asia, the Pacific and Africa. An estimated 20 million people become infected with measles worldwide each year and 146,000 of these individuals die due to the disease.

Why do we care so much about these U.S. outbreaks? Measles is an extremely contagious disease caused by a virus. It is spread through the air through coughing and sneezing. Measles starts with a fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes and sore throat, and is followed by a rash that spreads all over the body. Some people may suffer from severe complications, such as pneumonia (infection of the lungs) and encephalitis (swelling of the brain.) In fact, up to 1 in 20 children with measles will develop pneumonia, which is the most common cause of death from measles. Approximately 1 in 1,000 children with measles will develop encephalitis, which can cause seizures as well as deafness and retardation. Overall, 1-2 children out of every 1,000 infected will die from measles.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, “In the decade before 1963 when a vaccine became available, nearly all children got measles by the time they were 15 years of age. It is estimated 3 to 4 million people in the United States were infected each year. Also each year an estimated 400 to 500 people died, 48,000 were hospitalized, and 4,000 suffered encephalitis (swelling of the brain) from measles.”

In order to keep measles and other communicable diseases from circulating, nearly all members of the population need to be vaccinated. This is called “herd” immunity. In recent years, vaccination rates have declined in many areas. Some of this decline was sparked by a fraudulent study conducted by a British physician and published in 1998 which purported to link the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine with autism. The physician has since lost his license and been criminally charged for his conduct. This one piece of truly bad science caused many parents to become concerned about the safety of the MMR vaccine. Setting the record straight has been a long and difficult path. Let’s face it – sensational and scary stories get much more attention than the scientific facts that prove them wrong! In fact, the safety record for the MMR vaccine is very good, as is the case with all of our current routine childhood immunizations. There has been absolutely no credible link made between any vaccine and autism.

The current outbreak of measles that has sickened over 100 people in the U.S. and is still causing new cases should not have occurred in this day and age. The measles vaccine is highly effective and would have prevented nearly all of these cases.

If measles begins to circulate in large numbers again, we will see more severely ill children and children with lifelong impairments such as deafness in this country. The simple solution is to vaccinate. If parents have good and accurate information from credible sources, they generally make good decisions for their children. Vaccination is a good decision – for your child and your community.

Editor’s Note: Terry Frankovich is a pediatrician and the medical director at Western U.P. Health Department.