Disneyland California Measles Outbreak: With Arizona Monitoring 1,000 People, A Brief History Of How Important Child Vaccination Is
Disneyland’s measles outbreak is the quintessential incidence representing why parents need to follow vaccination schedules for their children. Arizona is currently monitoring the increasing influx of 1,000 people, which includes about 200 children who were exposed to the highly contagious disease. People who aren’t vaccinated need to stay home for 21 days and wear sanitary masks to keep locals safe, according to health officials.
"To stay in your house for 21 days is hard," State Health Services director Will Humble told CBS News. "But we need people to follow those recommendations, because all it takes is a quick trip to the Costco before you're ill and, 'bam,' you've just exposed a few hundred people. We're at a real critical juncture with the outbreak."
So far, there are at least 95 cases of measles linked to the outbreak from Disney’s theme parks, and Arizona has the second most thanks to its West Coast proximity. Health officials are desperately trying to keep track of all those who could have been exposed at Phoenix Children’s East Valley Center, but there are enough unvaccinated people to cause a threat to the public. Between Jan. 1 to Jan. 23, 2015, 68 people from 11 different states had confirmed cases of the measles, and most of them originated in Disneyland’s park, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
One woman was confirmed to have picked up the measles after she came in contact with a family that had recently traveled to Disneyland. The 21-day incubation period recommended to all families who could be at risk will end between Feb. 11 and 12.
"If someone has chosen not to vaccinate their children or for some reason cannot vaccinate their children, they face a higher responsibility now to let their health care provider know in advance," Phoenix Children's spokeswoman Debra Stevens announced on Wednesday. She said as soon as someone suspects themselves or their children starts showing signs of the measles, they should call the hospital staff to help improve tracking procedures.
Numbers Don’t Lie: Why You Need To Vaccinate Your Child:
In the pre-vaccine era of the United States, men, women, and children were dying by the millions each year. The three deadliest diseases known before the MMRV shot saved the public were varicella (chicken pox), measles, and mumps, respectively. The chances of dying from one of the three killers dropped between 89 and 99 percent after the vaccines were released into routine health care.
Then why are there so many parents not vaccinating their children? Looking into the past and seeing the disturbingly high threatening numbers of 6,000 measles-related deaths reported each year should be enough of a fear tactic. Yet, parents remain unafraid with a stalwart facade of invincibility. Parents opt out because of their misinformed fear of side effects from certain chemicals in vaccines, or the belief their child’s immune system isn’t strong enough to fight off a deactivated virus.
But a large majority of people who get measles are the ones who aren’t vaccinated. It spreads throughout communities, and an amusement park such as Disneyland is a perfect environment for disease outbreaks. The measles vaccination isn’t actually 100 percent effective in stopping the disease from spreading. Measles is fairly young in terms of discovery. In 1954, Boston researchers isolated the virus, and by 1963 a vaccine was licensed and on the market. Before then, 530,217 people were dying from it every single year in the United States.
In 2000, the CDC announced measles was officially eliminated because there had been no disease transmission for a full 12-month period. It seems as though people have gotten so used to surviving without the fear of contracting a deadly antiquated disease, that they have forgotten what saved them from such a fate — vaccines. Medicine advancement trumps Mickey Mouse any day.