Measles Outbreak

Measles is a very contagious virus that is especially dangerous for young children. This disease can be spread through a variety of mechanisms. It can be spread via airborne respiratory droplets (such as a cough or sneeze), it can be spread through saliva, touching fomites (inanimate objects such as countertops), and through vertical transmission from mother to infant during labor or nursing. Signs and symptoms of this disease include pain in the muscles, fever, runny nose, koplik’s spots, rash, dry cough, fatigue, and many more. According to the CDC, Measles was eliminated in the United States in 2000. This was due to the development of the MMRV vaccine and global measures taken to prevent the spread of the disease. Despite this feat, almost twenty years ago Measles has unfortunately become a problem again. In 2019, there was an outbreak of the Measles disease and over 1,000 cases were reported in the United States-the highest number since 1992.

As mentioned before, Measles is very infectious. In fact, it is more infectious than Ebola, namely because it’s droplets are able to remain suspended in the air for long periods of time and it is able to survive on surfaces for a long amount of time. According to Unicef, one can be infected by measles just standing in the same room as someone else who has the disease, even after they have left. Currently, measles outbreaks are occurring all over the world in places such as Liberia, Somalia, Greece, the United Kingdom, and the United States. After the measles being eliminated in so many different countries, what is causing these recent outbreaks? The main cause would be a lower rate of people being vaccinated. This is a very contagious disease and the best protection against it is immunization. Whenever a certain number of the population is not immunized, we are not able to maintain herd immunity, and more people are susceptible to transmitting the disease.

So what can be done to stop these outbreaks and once again eliminate the disease? Vaccination. Infections are most common in countries with weak health infrastructures. A unified global approach must be taken in order to provide these countries with the tools available to be able to sufficiently vaccinate their citizens. In addition campaigns should be created in order to raise the awareness of situations like these. Often times people are misinformed about vaccines and how they are able to prevent outbreaks of diseases such as Measles. The anti-vaxx movement is one of the factors that play into this misinformation. With a global approach to tackling our health problems, I believe Measles can be eliminated from many countries again.