U.S. measles outbreak sets record for post-elimination era

Good reason to avoid heading NOB!

"The ongoing measles outbreak in the United States has reached a record for any year since the disease was eliminated in this country 14 years ago, with 288 cases of the potentially deadly infection reported in 18 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

The largest measles clusters are in Ohio (138 confirmed cases), California (60) and New York (26), according to the CDC. Almost all — 97 percent — have been brought into the country by travelers, mainly Americans, who contracted the infection abroad. About half of those were people who picked it up in the Philippines, where a large measles outbreak has affected more than 32,000 people, causing 41 deaths, since January alone, said Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

In this country, the biggest outbreak is centered in the Amish community in Ohio, where many of the residents are unvaccinated, the CDC reported. In Virginia, two cases were confirmed earlier this month.

“This is a wake-up call for travelers and parents to make sure vaccinations are up to date,” Schuchat said..............

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/05/29/u-s-measles-outbreak-sets-record-for-post-elimination-era/?wpisrc=al_national_p

The ignorant but very verbal Hollywood celebrities can take some responsibility for claiming that their kids developed autism after vaccines. This has since been disproven but has done a lot of damage. I mean who would you believe Jenny McCarthy or your pediatrician? I work in a hospital and moms of unvaccinated children bring their kids in after exposure to measles and want us to offer protection. People who have never seen the devastation of epidemics take so much for granted and parents now grew up believing everything can be fixed.
We also have very large enclaves of Russian and Ukraine immigrants who don't vaccinate. They are very suspicious and because they stick so much to themselves, they aren't easily influenced otherwise.
“Vaccination coverage in Ukraine is at the lowest it has been for 20 years. Less than half of children are fully immunized against polio and the recent volatile situation has reduced vaccination coverage even more. UNICEF calls on the Ukrainian authorities to take measures to prevent a polio outbreak in the country”, says Yukie Mokuo, UNICEF Representative in Ukraine
http://www.un.org.ua/en/information-centre/news/1827
Can you imagine, after all the fear and work around polio in the 40's and 50's that it could come back?

Along this topic, has any else read "The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History" [John M. Barry]? Fascinating reading. We are on the lookout for Ebola now at work....