A highly contagious children's disease thought to have been wiped out 25 years ago has reappeared in the United States.
Nearly 300 cases of the measles have been reported in Texas and New Mexico. There are also a few isolated cases being reported in 13 other states. Fortunately, Nebraska is not one of them.
During an interview with Norfolk Radio Station WJAG and the Daily News, Dr. Afua Mensah, an infectious disease specialist at Faith Regional Health Services in Norfolk, said there is a simple precaution that parents can take to protect their children.
"The thing about measles is that it is really easily controllable with vaccination," Mensah said. "Once people get vaccinated, this risk of measles spreading is extremely, extremely low."
Mensah is encouraging parents to check their children's medical records to make sure they have been vaccinated. If not, it's important to get them vaccinated as soon as possible, she said.
HOW DID THE OUTBREAK HAPPEN?
Certain criteria had to be in place to generate the measles outbreak, which has resulted in two deaths.
"I think what may have happened is that we may have run into a combination of a group of people who may not have been vaccinated for the measles as children,” Mensah said. “When that happens, infections were thought to be wiped out years ago — but then you have a situation where the infection can resurface."
Mensah again emphasized the need for vaccinations.
"Anytime you have infections that can be controlled by vaccination, you need to have a certain number of people who have not been vaccinated for this to happen,” Mensah said. “So, let's say you have a hundred people in that community, you need 90 to 95% of them to get vaccinated. When you have a vaccination rate that is extremely low, the risk of infections is enhanced and starts to spread. And then you have an outbreak on your hands."
REASON FOR CONCERN
Mensah said the outbreak in the U.S. is extremely alarming.
"The downside to having a measles outbreak is we really do not have any medication to treat the measles," she said.
That's a problem. "Once people have the measles and they don't have any immune cells to fight the infection, they will become extremely sick and have to be admitted to a medical facility,” Mensah said. “You attempt to treat the symptoms that they have. So, you have a child or adult that develops respiration failure … and we have to keep them on a breathing machine so they can breathe."
Mensah describes the worst-case outcome in such situations. "If the immune cells cannot fight the infection — and when you are not vaccinated, you do not have the immune cells — what happens is the infection overwhelms your body, and that leads to death."
Mensah said the best approach to preventing measles from showing up in Northeast Nebraska is twofold: Increase awareness of measles, and encourage vaccinations.
"We are encouraging parents and guardians to vaccinate their children,” Mensah said. “We cannot emphasize that enough: Vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate. Vaccination is the way to go to prevent these childhood illnesses. Vaccinations save lives."
