Measles outbreak terrifies US citizens

by Rebecca Costanza, staff reporter 

United States has already had more cases of measles in the first month of 2015

than the number that is typically diagnosed in a full year according to CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD).

Most of these cases have been tied to an outbreak in Disneyland, which began in December. Around 40 people who visited the theme park contracted measles, and there were reports of cases of the disease in seventeen other states. These states include Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Washington.

“The outbreak makes me feel unsafe since it started in a place where so many people go that I feel that it’s going to spread more because there are so many tourists in Disneyland,” junior Marcela Abanto said.

Measles is still common in other countries. The virus is highly contagious and can spread rapidly in areas where people are not vaccinated. An estimated 20 million people get measles and 146,000 people die from the disease each year. This equals to about 440 deaths every day or about 17 deaths every hour.

“I’m scared for my own health because I’m not completely sure if I had the measles shot or not. I want to ask my mom and make sure I had it so I don’t die from the measles,” junior Gillian Paolitti said.

Children need to be vaccinated at a high rate to slow the spread of the virus. The measles vaccine is ineffective in about 5 percent of people who have had only one dose, so two doses are recommended to ensure that nearly all children will get immunity before entering school.

“I think it’s scary because I have a son who is too young to vaccine against measles so he’s in the group of people against danger,” seventh grade science teacher Ms. Cimini said.