Measles are still a concern

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
With the first day of school just around the corner, Aug. 21 to be exact, local health officials are stressing the importance of vaccinations for children and adults, especially the measles vaccine. 
Despite Wyoming having no reported cases of the measles since 2010, there have been more than 1,172 individual cases in 30 states, as of Aug. 1, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Before the 1963 vaccination was developed, the CDC estimates that three to four million people contracted the measles each year in the United States. 
“This is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1992 and since measles was declared eliminated in 2000,” the CDC reports. “Measles can cause serious complications. As of Aug. 1, 2019, 124 of the people who got measles this year were hospitalized, and 64 reported having complications, including pneumonia and encephalitis.”
According to the CDC, 75% of these cases are linked to outbreaks in New York and New York City, with the disease now being more likely to spread and cause outbreaks among unvaccinated populations in the country. 
“Measles are still common in many parts of the world,” the CDC says. “Travelers with measles continue to bring the disease into the U.S. where it can spread when it reaches a community in the country where groups of people are unvaccinated.” 
An increase in measles cases can be linked to an increased number of international travelers contracting the disease and returning to the country and the number of people who remained unvaccinated in the country, according to health officials.
“What has happened is, over the years because people were immunized, these vaccine-preventable diseases obviously went away,” said Lori Bickford, Weston County public health nurse. “What happened over time is when people were no longer seeing these illnesses, they began to have the mindset that they don’t exist so we don’t need to vaccinate any longer. What the problem is, that unless the diseases is completely eradicated, they can come back.” 
According to Ashley Tupper, a registered nurse practitioner, people born between 1957 and 1988 should discuss a measles booster or titer test (a test allowing a clinician to determine whether a vaccination is required), “unless you are able to prove immunity with actual documentation of two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine.”
“Anyone born before 1957 is considered to be protected against measles. If you were born after 1989 and received your standard childhood immunizations, you are considered protected against measles,” Tupper said. 
Individuals needing a titer test should discuss insurance coverage before paying for the test, Tupper said. Weston County Health Services is also offering $50 titer testing to help ensure immunity in the community.