Measles Outbreak in 21 States Including Connecticut, New York + New Jersey
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that as of July 14 there have been 107 confirmed cases of measles in 21 states, including Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. The childhood disease is still quite common in other parts of the world and even though in the year 2000 the United States declared that measles was officially "eliminated", it is still brought into the United States by travelers who have not had the measles vaccine. Since it is extremely contagious, a child that has not been vaccinated is at high risk to contract measles.
CDC.gov says that measles can have some hefty health complications. In fact, 25% of affected individuals are hospitalized. Brain damage occurs in 1 out of every 1,000 cases and the risk of dying from measles is reported at 1 to 2 of every 1,000 cases. Statistics show that each year,19 out of every 1,000 people worldwide become infected and 89,780 deaths are reported.
Although that number is down from a record number of 667 cases in 2014, this has alarmed some pediatricians to restrict patients to only those who have been vaccinated.
For more on the outbreak and the disease itself, click here.
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