The number of measles cases linked to the West Texas outbreak is surging toward 100 and an alert has been issued because one of those individuals traveled to San Antonio and San Marcos. According to the Centers for Disease Control, this is the third measles outbreak in the United States this year, and public health experts warn it's just the beginning. It’s no surprise that we’re seeing measles first. It’s the most contagious virus of them all.
Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, recently told Petrie Dish host Bonnie Petrie that the sharp drop in state and nationwide vaccination rates would lead to outbreaks like this and that we underestimate viruses like measles at our peril.
Here are excerpts from their conversation.
Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine
Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine
Director of the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development
On the seriousness of measles in children
Measles is a bad actor. If your child has measles, your child has a 20% likelihood of being hospitalized with it. Ten percent of kids who get measles have measles otitis, which can lead to permanent hearing loss. Five percent of kids who get measles get measles pneumonia, which is the leading cause of death from measles.
On the argument that a child's immune system should be enough and that a measles infection is beneficial for immune system development
For much of the last half of the 20th century, measles was the single leading killer of children in the world. In 2000 about half a million kids died from measles every year. In the '70s, three million kids died of measles every year. Now we've got it down to below 50,000 annually, but it's fragile. It'll come roaring right back again because measles is so highly transmissible.
On where to turn for good information about measles and vaccination
If you have a pediatrician in your community, most pediatricians are well-educated about vaccines. So have a conversation with your pediatrician.
You can hear much more of their conversation on this update from the Petrie Dish podcast.
