Measles disease, the most infectious disease known to man, was believed to be eradicated from the United States in 2000. Yet, the highly contagious disease is still prevalent and there is major cause for concern, according to the Huffington Post.
Here are 10 things to note:
1. A Washington woman's recent death confirmed the first-known measles death in the United States since 2003.
2. Between January to June 2015, the CDC reported 178 cases of measles with five outbreaks representing 85 percent of reported cases thus far this year.
3. In 2013, there were 11 reported measles outbreaks in the United States. That number increased to 23 in 2014, making that outbreak one of the largest outbreaks with 383 cases. Most of the cases occurred in the unvaccinated Amish communities in Ohio.
4. Additionally, there were 145,700 measles fatalities around the world in 2013. This figure amounts to 400 deaths each day.
5. The measles outbreak presents an imminent threat when considering the high rates of globalization, the contagious nature of measures, the ease in which the virus is spread as well as the number of unvaccinated people in various communities.
6. Despite popular belief, immigrants from Mexico are not likely to bring measles to the United States, with only two confirmed measles cases in Mexico as opposed to 644 total confirmed measles cases in the United States.
7. Only three states — Mississippi, West Virginia and California — have strict school vaccination policies.
8. Critics of vaccinations firmly believe the MMR vaccine is connected to autism. Scientific research has debunked this belief, yet many parents opt to not vaccinate their children.
9. The number of unvaccinated American poses great risk for those travelers from Europe to the United States during the summer season. Between January 2014 and March 2015, there were over 23,000 cases of measles in the European Region, according to the World Health Organization.
10. Those most at risk of contracting measles include newborn babies, HIV/AIDs patients with a compromised immune response, the elderly, chemotherapy patients, malnourished individuals and pregnant women.
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