Author: Stephen Johnson / Source: Big Think
- The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded 79 measles cases in 2019.
- Three outbreaks are responsible for the high number of cases, particularly an outbreak in Washington State that’s affected at least 50 people so far.
- The measles vaccine is effective, though vaccine hesitancy and the virus’ extremely contagious nature put some communities at risk.
Americans reported more measles cases in the first weeks of 2019 than all of 2010, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The spike stems from three measles outbreaks (defined as three or more cases) in New York City, New York State and Washington State. The most severe outbreak emerged in an anti-vaccination “hotspot” in Clark County, Wash., where at least 50 confirmed measles cases have been reported as of February 7.
State health officials believe the outbreak started after someone with measles from outside the country traveled to the Clark County area, about 25 miles north of Portland, Oregon, and came in contact with a group of unvaccinated children.
“All those kids that were un-immunized went to public places like Ikea, Costco and a Portland Trailblazers game,” said Washington State Epidemiologist Scott Lindquist.
Some weren’t surprised an outbreak struck Clark County, where 8 percent of children were exempt from getting the vaccinations required to enter public school kindergarten in the 2017–2018 school year.
“This is something I’ve predicted for a while now,” Peter J. Hotez, a professor of pediatrics and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told The Washington Post. “It’s really awful…
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