As measles makes its return across the United States in the worst outbreak since the it was eliminated nearly twenty years ago, health officials are urging people born before 1989 to check their immunization records to ensure they're protected against the disease. While most of the current victims are children and people who have not been vaccinated, doctors say that some who received the MMR vaccine as children could still be at risk.
Why? These days, doctors give children two doses of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine in order for it to be fully effective. Those born between 1957 and 1989 only received one dose of the MMR vaccine, which may not be enough to fully protect them during an outbreak. Two doses is believed to offer 97 percent protection against measles.
That means, even if you've been vaccinated, you may not be as safe as you think you are - especially if you've visited a location where people have been exposed to the disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that those people born between 1963 and 1967 and were vaccinated with the MMR vaccine get another dose of the modern vaccine, since the older version produced during those years wasn't very effective.
Vaccine induced immunity to measles can also become less effective over the years, even in those people who received two shots.
Five states, including California, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Washington, have all been experiencing outbreaks of the disease. On Wednesday, Los Angeles County health officials were forced to quarantine a number of students at UCLA who were possibly exposed to the disease. The university announced the quarantine in a message from UCLA Chancellor Gene Block:
"On Monday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) notified UCLA that one of our students had contracted the measles. We were also informed that the student had attended classes at Franz Hall and Boelter Hall on three days -- April 2, 4 and 9 -- while contagious. The student did not enter any other buildings while on campus.
"... Upon learning of this incident, UCLA immediately identified and notified more than 500 students, faculty and staff with whom the student may have come into contact or who may have otherwise been exposed. They were also provided with detailed information about treatment and prevention."
Measles is a highly contagious disease that is spread through person-to-person contact and through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Symptoms include fever, runny nose, red eyes and a sore throat. A rash will also spread across the body.
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