Measles Outbreak Force Health Officials to Focus on Herd Immunity Concept - Consolidate Times

With over 67 people affected in 5 states and Mexico, the measles outbreak is one of the worst we have seen in years. Just last month, the outbreak occurred in the Disneyland Parks in California and has since spread. Health experts are more concerned about those unvaccinated at this point. In 6 of the cases, the patients were infants who were too young to receive the vaccine, but the others were not. In order for these infants not to get sick, they depended on everyone around them to be vaccinated which is called herd immunity. Health officials are focusing more on just why people refuse to get vaccinated.

California health officials confirmed more measles cases in San Mateo County on Friday. This is the third new case in the Bay Area, raising concerns across the world. The news followed another announcement citing similar concerns in the Marin County. The region reported two new cases of measles, which are the first since 2001. The reports confirmed that the children affected by the disease are two unvaccinated siblings.

The Marin County cases are linked to the recent Disneyland Resort outbreak, where the children were first exposed to the infection. Fortunately, the children stayed away from school the whole time, limiting a potential spread of the disease to other children. The news was confirmed by Dr. Matt Willis, a public health officer. However, the other children in the school who have not received prior vaccinations continue to attend school.

In this context, the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services informed that school children who are unvaccinated were deliberately not asked to stay at home. This is because the officials were reported any infected cases at the school. The officials also said that the California law allows local health departments to forbid unvaccinated children from attending school. The rule is applicable for a maximum of 21 days, as this is the incubation period.

Apart from these, there was a total of 91 cases recorded in California, as on Friday. Of these, 58 were traced back to the outbreak at Disneyland Resort. In addition, San Mateo County also recorded new measles cases. The outbreak has spread to more regions, including Alameda County and Santa Clara County. While the first region recorded as many as six new cases, the latter two. The worst hit is Southern California, most of which are linked to the Disneyland Resort case. The rising number of infections has raised alarms for an endemic if immediate precautions are not taken.

Posted by Lisa Mason

Lisa Mason is a freelance writer, content marketing specialist and social media marketer with more than 6 years of experience. As VP of Special Media for Social Media Sun, she makes sure that readers have access to the most relevant and helpful information that she uses to provide social media solutions to her clients.

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