By Karla Davis
Have you ever wondered about the large number of rare diseases around the world? Well then, here’s one you might not expect: Measles disease. Let that phrase sink in for a minute. Measles is a contagious illness caused by a virus. This infectious viral disease causes fever and a red rash on the skin, and is typically contracted during childhood. The recent measles outbreak began among unvaccinated travelers to the Philippines. Now, you may ask, why am I bombarding you with all this info about measles? Well, you might want to know that the vacation spot Disneyland, often referred to as the ‘happiest place on earth,” is the most current source of a rare, yet continuous viral outbreak of measles. This measles outbreak first emerged in Anaheim,California when according to official sources an infected person visited the park in December of 2014. Because of this, America has seen a slow rise in the spread of this disease. According to the CDC website, from January 1st of 2015 to February 20th, at least 154 people from 17 states (plus Washington D.C.) were reported to have contracted measles.
Although measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000 thanks to a very effective vaccination program, it’s currently on the rise again in the United States. According to Yahoo news, a record number of more than 610 cases were reported in 2014, and that number is nearly triple the previous high in 2011. The Yahoo story further reports that: “the majority of those cases involve unvaccinated patients.”
According to Orange Country Health Care Agency, half of Disneyland’s initial six measles cases were contracted by unvaccinated children who were above the age limit to be vaccinated in two full doses. As for the three adults who also contracted the disease (which has far more serious consequences for adult victims than for children) at Disneyland, only one of them was fully vaccinated. Measles is increasing around the country, but most specifically throughout communities that for various reasons refuse to get preventative vaccinations.
For example, in 2009, actress Jenny McCarthy became the celebrity face of the anti-vaccine movement when she pointed to childhood autism as a side-effect of vaccines, which is a claim that is not supported by scientific evidence. Similarly, a 2013 outbreak in Texas was linked to a Christian mega church whose televangelist minister condemned the use of vaccines, comparing them with injecting a child with a sexually transmitted disease! In 2014, parents who refused to vaccinate their kids were blamed for an outbreak of potentially fatal whooping cough in two unlikely places: the wealthy, elite neighborhoods of Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills, California. In these two communities up to 70-percent of parents had filed “personal belief exemptions” from vaccinations with their children’s schools, according to the The Hollywood Reporter. As a result, their vaccination rate was as low as that of Chad or South Sudan, according to The Atlantic.
Because of the consequences for public health, this measles outbreak should not just be portrayed as a nightmare for “the happiest place in the world.” Instead, people should look at this return of a preventable childhood disease as an early warning that even the “developed world” can be negatively affected by medical myths, dangerous fads, and poor decision-making if the public does not make itself aware of proven medical research and advances in medical knowledge.