Measles
We have all heard about the measles outbreak and how it is connected to vaccines but this article, called "Measles Case Leads to Mass Vaccination" talks about the dangers of the new idea that vaccines cause diseases like autism and it also discusses how dangerous a case of mealses can be.
The woman who got measles had worked in a busy office building in the Back Bay. She was a short term worker who had never been vaccinated for mealses and they believe that she contracted it through travel to another country. She thought that she had the flu so she went to a crowded community health center in Roxbury where they confirmed that she had measles.
What made her case so alarming was that she was exposed to a large amount of people. If she had contracted the disease through traveling, she would have been on a plane, where air is circulated and she would have been in busy airports for a long time. Then it was discovered that she traveled on the T to go to and from work, where she would have been exposed to a lot of people, then she would have been exposed to all of the people working in her office. The amount of people that could have been exposed to measles made it scary to people, especially to parents who have decided to not vaccinate their children.
There has been a lot of talk about how vaccines could be linked to diseases like autism which is the cause for the movement that we have been seeing lately. Parents who do not vaccinate their children are putting them at a great risk. If there was no vaccine to measles, there would have been a lot more than a few cases but the scary part is that if there was another outbreak of a disease that parents have not vaccinated their children for, it would be tragic.
http://http//www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/articles/2011/02/24/measles_case_leads_to_mass_vaccinations/?page=1
We have all heard about the measles outbreak and how it is connected to vaccines but this article, called "Measles Case Leads to Mass Vaccination" talks about the dangers of the new idea that vaccines cause diseases like autism and it also discusses how dangerous a case of mealses can be.
The woman who got measles had worked in a busy office building in the Back Bay. She was a short term worker who had never been vaccinated for mealses and they believe that she contracted it through travel to another country. She thought that she had the flu so she went to a crowded community health center in Roxbury where they confirmed that she had measles.
What made her case so alarming was that she was exposed to a large amount of people. If she had contracted the disease through traveling, she would have been on a plane, where air is circulated and she would have been in busy airports for a long time. Then it was discovered that she traveled on the T to go to and from work, where she would have been exposed to a lot of people, then she would have been exposed to all of the people working in her office. The amount of people that could have been exposed to measles made it scary to people, especially to parents who have decided to not vaccinate their children.
There has been a lot of talk about how vaccines could be linked to diseases like autism which is the cause for the movement that we have been seeing lately. Parents who do not vaccinate their children are putting them at a great risk. If there was no vaccine to measles, there would have been a lot more than a few cases but the scary part is that if there was another outbreak of a disease that parents have not vaccinated their children for, it would be tragic.
http://http//www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/articles/2011/02/24/measles_case_leads_to_mass_vaccinations/?page=1
The interesting this with this case is the huge number of people that have been vaccinated for measals across the world even but there are still people and places in the world that horbor the measles. Especially in America where I don't think kids are even allowed to go to school without the measles vaccine. The chances of this becoming an epidemic seem pretty slim since most of the world seems to have treatment readily available.
ReplyDeleteNice article choice! Measels is not a disease that we hear a whole lot about in the news today, so it was nice to read about something different. I generally don't think about measels as being a threat because I am vaccinated along with probably almost everyone I know. Although the chances of an epidemic are slim, it is still a scary thought. We may think that we are safe from diseases like measels, but you never know what could happen. I like the way you tied the article into the importance of vaccination. It went along nicely with the former two blog posts!
ReplyDeleteKelly, I enjoyed your post, it was very well written and I found the topic interesting. It is quite scary to think how many people could have come in contact with her. She travels on the T and works in a crowded office, which right there is over 150 people plus! It’s great that there is a vaccine and I think that it is extremely dumb not to vaccinate your kids just for this specific reason. I agree with Joel that there is a very slight chance that measels could become an epidemic.
ReplyDeleteThe importance of vaccination is becoming very relevant in Boston suddenly. It has always been important to get vaccinated and that has lead to eradication of most epidemic diseases in the US. There are a few studies that do say that vaccinations could give children disorders like autism, but as many articles are proving to be true that it is more important to get kids vaccinated. We are lucky to live in an area where we have the medical technology and money to supply and require people to get vaccinated for diseases like measles. This is a time where I am appreciative of the vaccination so there would not be another epidemic in the US, and as others have said there would be minimal chances of a measles epidemic in the US due to the vaccination that the majority has received.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very good article choice considering how close it happened to home and how recently it happened. I also agree with Kara that it is interesting to hear about a disease that isn't heard about too often anymore. It is scary to think that a disease such as measles happened right here in Massachusetts. Like what Joel said, it is interesting that this woman even contracted measles since it is a requirement to be vaccinated for it before even entering school.
ReplyDeleteThis article brings up a really important controversy. I personally feel like all parents should have their children vaccinated, due to health risks such as those that this article brings up. It's clear from the example that the article follows with the woman who contracted Measles that disease can be contracted and spread so easily. This being the case, if a vaccination is available (as it is for Measles) it should be taken advantage of. Though that is my personal opinion, I am aware that there are opposing beliefs which claim that the risks vaccinations present outweigh the health benefits that they produce. Because of these strong beliefs, I feel that it's important to educate parents and families about why vaccines are beneficial and exact science behind them. Perhaps once more information is given out to people, they will be more willing to vaccinate and avoid the spread of disease described in this article.
ReplyDeleteThis article is great because it discusses the increasing problem of people not being vaccinated. It is scary to think that just because one person didn't get vaccinated against the measles can spread it to others who aren't vaccinated, creating an epidemic. This is especially scary for children and infants who are too young to get the vaccine. The measles vaccine is given to infants between 12-15 months. I think that it is irresponsible to people not to get vaccinated against the measles, as well as other diseases we have vaccines for. You did a great job bringing up her modes of transportation and how that made her even more of a risk to others. Also I liked how you brought up the fear that the vaccine will lead to autism. Because there is no evidence for this, people need to stop using it as an excuse for not vaccinating their children.
ReplyDelete