A recent epidemic has parents and local officials asking, “what has happened?”
There has been a recent outbreak of measles after a confirmed 432, cases in Brooklyn and Queens since October. Children and adults exposed to this virus must be alarmed of the recent events. The initial victim of the virus was unvaccinated and contracted measles on a trip to Israel. With the recent measles epidemic in Israel health officials ordered unvaccinated children and adults in the surrounding zip codes to get vaccinated.
Recently, 21,284 doses of the MMR vaccine have been given to those under the age of 19 years old in Williamsburg and Borough Park. If the Health Department identifies a person with measles or who is unvaccinated, in the surrounding zip codes, the parent or guardian of that child could be fined $1,000.
Hers is what you should know about measles.
Measles is an infectious disease that causes fever and rashes on the skin that typically affect children. The majority of people diagnosed with measles in 2019 are children under the age of 10 and nearly all of them were unvaccinated. The illness can be very severe and lead to deadly complications such as pneumonia and swelling of the brain.
How it spreads.
Measles is a highly contagious virus, if someone infected coughs, or sneezes into the air it can affect surrounding people within hours. Once the virus is contracted it affects parts of the body such as the lungs, trachea, and windpipe. The risk of catching measles is higher in crowded areas, such as, airports, tourist attractions, and malls. In recent years the virus has been contracted by people who weren’t fully vaccinated and traveling outside the US.
Some symptoms of measles include:
- Fever
- Dry cough
- Koplik’s spots
- Skin rash
- Inflamed eyes
Parents are asking, “Should I get my child vaccinated?”
The answer is yes! It is recommended to vaccinate your child on or after their first birthday and before travelling internationally. Those who fear being vaccinated are worried about the safety of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine which has been proven to be safe.
“These measles outbreaks are damn scary. Make no mistake folks, if you choose not to vaccinate, you are endangering yourself and those around you. Get smart. Get educated. And get vaccinated.”
Seth MacFarlane.
Vaccinations
Measles can be prevented by vaccinations in which work. The best way to protect yourself, family, and those around you it is best to get vaccinated with the measles-mumps-rubella also known as the MMR vaccine. In order to keep people safe, we must do our jobs to get vaccinated. If you or someone you know has been in contact with measles or has contracted the measles its best to get check out for safety reasons. If measles is not treated it can spread and affect those who are unvaccinated which is why people must get vaccinated!
For recent updates about the public health emergency check out
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/09/health/measles-new-york-emergency-bn/index.html.
