A new outbreak of measles is circulating throughout the North and South Carolina areas. It is continuing to spread in all directions, having already affected 24 states as of Feb. 12.
Measles, also known as rubeola, is a highly contagious, airborne viral infection that causes high fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and its characterizing blotchy rash. It is spread through the respiratory droplets and can remain within the air for up to two hours. It can also be spread through person-to-person contact.
“If you have measles, up to 90% of the people close to you, who are not immune, will also become infected,” according to the CDC.
A lot of the people who are infected end up spreading the infection around before they realize they even have it in the first place.
Sophomore Anne McKee said, “I think the outcome [of the measles outbreak] is that people will start taking the vaccines more seriously and not skipping out on them.”
The outbreak itself was mostly caused by a decline in vaccination rates since the COVID-19 pandemic. Another factor is parents refusing to vaccinate their kids due to the spreading of misinformation. Parents were told multiple false claims such as the claim that the measles vaccine causes autism in children and others like ineffectiveness and the vaccine being more dangerous than the disease.
This has had a big negative effect on many cities, where measles is continuing to spread. The cases piling up is also leading to the risk of the United States losing their measles elimination status. So far there have been around 500 cases in the U.S. with zero confirmed deaths, and if the numbers continue to rise as they have been, the U.S. will indeed lose its eradication status of measles.
Health officials are trying to contain the measles outbreak by promoting the MMR vaccine in order to get 95% community immunity. By doing this they are trying to make more people immune so that it is being spread around the community less.
There was a time where the measles vaccine was inefficient between 1963-1967, but it has since been fixed. Vaccines are much more effective now and there are measures that are being taken in order to contain the virus.
