At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that 22.3 million infants worldwide missed their first dose of measles vaccine in 2020, contributing to the largest annual increase in over 20 years of unvaccinated children in the United States. The concern, according to researchers at the time, was that this would lead to outbreaks of measles and other preventable diseases in the future.
Now there’s a measles outbreak in central Ohio – and the majority of affected children are unvaccinated. According to the official City of Columbus website, there have been 85 cases of measles since the outbreak began in November 2022, and 34 people have been hospitalized with the virus. Of those affected, 78 were unvaccinated, six had only received a single dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine which works to prevent the disease, and one had an unknown vaccination status .
All cases involved children 17 and under, and the vast majority of patients were 2 years and under.
Columbus Health Commissioner Mysheika Roberts said in an interview last month that the outbreak began with a small group of people returning from an area where measles is a regular occurrence. The virus spreads rapidly among unvaccinated young children. “The reason so many of our young children have been affected by this measles outbreak is that the vast majority of our population is unvaccinated,” she said.
These aren’t the only measles cases in the United States in the past year: CDC data shows there were 118 measles cases in 2022, compared to 49 cases in 2021. (Data for 2023 are not yet available online.)
It’s understandable to have questions about measles after that. Here’s what you need to know.
What is measles?
Measles, which is caused by a virus, is an acute viral respiratory illness that causes a range of uncomfortable symptoms, including a distinct rash, high fever and cough, according to the CDC. But this is not your average disease. “Measles is a dangerous disease that has the ability to cause pneumonia, brain infection, and can wipe out certain aspects of the immune system,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, senior researcher at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told Yahoo Life. Specifically, a measles infection can damage a person’s immune system by eliminating up to 73% of pre-existing antibodies for other illnesses, including the flu.
The virus is also “extraordinarily infectious – even more infectious than COVID,” Dr. Thomas Russo, chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo in New York, told Yahoo Life.
Dr. Danelle Fisher, chair of pediatrics at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in California, told Yahoo Life that measles is so contagious that the virus can still make someone sick up to two hours after someone has of measles left a room. “It’s so, very contagious,” she says.
How is measles transmitted?
Measles spreads in a “COVID-like” way, Russo says. According to the CDC, it is transmitted by direct contact with infectious droplets or respiratory particles that enter the air when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. And again, the virus can linger in the air for two hours after a person with measles leaves the area.
People can also catch measles by touching an infected surface and then touching their eyes, nose or mouth, according to the CDC.
The CDC points out that measles is so contagious that if a person has it, up to 90% of people around them who are not immune to the virus will also become infected.
Signs of measles to have on your radar
According to the CDC, measles symptoms typically appear seven to 14 days after a person has been infected, and symptoms tend to come on in stages.
In the first stage, a child usually experiences these symptoms:
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High fever.
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Cough.
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Runny nose.
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Red and watery eyes.
“Usually you have these cold symptoms first,” Fisher says. From there, a patient may have tiny white spots (called Koplik’s spots) inside the mouth, according to the CDC. Three to five days after symptoms start, a rash usually appears, starting as flat red spots that appear on the face and spread to the rest of the body. Measles can also lead to serious complications such as pneumonia and brain swelling, according to the CDC. “It’s not a very fun disease to have,” Russo says.
How to prevent measles
Measles is prevented with the two-dose MMR vaccine. The CDC recommends that children receive the first dose of the vaccine between 12 and 15 months and the second dose between 4 and 6 years old. One dose of the vaccine is about 93% effective in preventing measles, while two doses are about 97% effective, according to the CDC.
It is important to note that the majority of children affected by the Ohio outbreak were under the age of 2 and therefore could not be fully immunized against measles. However, those older than 12 months – the largest group affected – were eligible to receive the first vaccine in the series. Yet only six of the 85 people affected by the outbreak had received an injection.
Herd immunity – that is, when enough of a population is immune to a disease that even people who are not vaccinated are offered some protection because the disease is unlikely to spread in the community – is important to protect those who are not. t yet vaccinated, those who are not fully vaccinated, and those who are immunocompromised and will not have an optimal response to the vaccine, Russo says.
“The only means of protection is a vaccine,” says Fisher. “I can’t believe we’re here again. It’s directly related to the drop in vaccinations.”
How is measles treated?
There is no specific treatment for measles. Instead, children may be given acetaminophen or ibuprofen for aches, pains, or fever, and encouraged to drink plenty of fluids, Russo says.
“We really don’t have a lot of treatment,” he says. “The key with measles is prevention.”
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