Forget Ebola. This is the viral epidemic that should really terrify Americans
The first patient to come down with the deadly Ebola virus has turned up in Dallas. On Sep. 19, the patient had traveled there from Liberia, which along with Guinea and Sierra Leone is one of three West African countries ravaged by the virus. He’s not actually the first Ebola patient to be in the US; four American medical missionaries working in the region have been evacuated to the US for treatment since the summer. And though we’ve already discussed why it’s highly unlikely that the virus will spread, the fact that the patient was symptomatic for at least four days before being placed in isolation is likely to press the American panic button.
But if Americans really want a viral epidemic to freak out about, here it is:
Yes, measles—the same virus that was eliminated from the US in 2000. Spread through the air, measles—which causes respiratory system infections, rash, and in some cases, encephalitis—is many, many times more contagious than Ebola. The US was able to eliminate native strains of the measles virus thanks to several nationwide childhood vaccination campaigns. But the disease still strikes Americans because, like the unfortunate Dallas patient, people bring viral strains into the US all the time. And those foreign strains can infect people who are unvaccinated. Typically, that’s meant those who are too young for the vaccination or those with an allergy or another illness that has compromised their immune system.
But in the three biggest outbreaks in 2014, the virus was transmitted when someone introduced a measles strain from outside the US into communities where pockets of people had refused vaccination because of philosophical, religious, or personal beliefs, according to the CDC. Of the 195 US residents who contracted measles and were unvaccinated as of May 23, 85% had declined immunization on those grounds, versus 68% from 2004 to 2008 (pdf).
The recent surge in measles arguably is due to the anti-vaccine movement, led primarily by celebrities like Jenny McCarthy, who has espoused the baldly erroneous belief that measles vaccinations cause autism. The former co-host of “The View” has since shifted the emphasis of her position that she supports vaccines, but not the medically accepted vaccination schedule; however, as this pediatrician argues, “the damage has been done.”
The fact that many parents in wealthy enclaves in California are declining to vaccinate their children helped spur an outbreak there earlier this year. In one small school in Sausalito, near San Francisco, just 26% of incoming kindergarteners arrived vaccinated; the CDC’s target is 90%.
Forget Ebola. This is the viral epidemic that should really terrify Americans – Quartz
The first patient to come down with the deadly Ebola virus has turned up in Dallas. On Sep. 19, the patient had traveled there from Liberia, which along with Guinea and Sierra Leone is one of three West African countries ravaged by the virus. He’s not actually the first Ebola patient to be in the US; four American medical missionaries working in the region have been evacuated to the US for treatment since the summer. And though we’ve already discussed why it’s highly unlikely that the virus will spread, the fact that the patient was symptomatic for at least four days before being placed in isolation is likely to press the American panic button.
But if Americans really want a viral epidemic to freak out about, here it is:
Yes, measles—the same virus that was eliminated from the US in 2000. Spread through the air, measles—which causes respiratory system infections, rash, and in some cases, encephalitis—is many, many times more contagious than Ebola. The US was able to eliminate native strains of the measles virus thanks to several nationwide childhood vaccination campaigns. But the disease still strikes Americans because, like the unfortunate Dallas patient, people bring viral strains into the US all the time. And those foreign strains can infect people who are unvaccinated. Typically, that’s meant those who are too young for the vaccination or those with an allergy or another illness that has compromised their immune system.
But in the three biggest outbreaks in 2014, the virus was transmitted when someone introduced a measles strain from outside the US into communities where pockets of people had refused vaccination because of philosophical, religious, or personal beliefs, according to the CDC. Of the 195 US residents who contracted measles and were unvaccinated as of May 23, 85% had declined immunization on those grounds, versus 68% from 2004 to 2008 (pdf).
The recent surge in measles arguably is due to the anti-vaccine movement, led primarily by celebrities like Jenny McCarthy, who has espoused the baldly erroneous belief that measles vaccinations cause autism. The former co-host of “The View” has since shifted the emphasis of her position that she supports vaccines, but not the medically accepted vaccination schedule; however, as this pediatrician argues, “the damage has been done.”
The fact that many parents in wealthy enclaves in California are declining to vaccinate their children helped spur an outbreak there earlier this year. In one small school in Sausalito, near San Francisco, just 26% of incoming kindergarteners arrived vaccinated; the CDC’s target is 90%.
Forget Ebola. This is the viral epidemic that should really terrify Americans – Quartz
