When measles cases rise in the USA, some adults may need a vaccine amplifier: shots

Measles spread slightly. It is one of the most contagious diseases in the world.

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A measles outbreak in West texas is spreading. And since kindergarten vaccination rates are falling throughout the country, more municipalities can be exposed to outbreaks.

But it’s not just children who should be vaccinated. Experts in infectious diseases say that some adults may also have to be revised.

Measles can spread incredibly quickly – it is one of the most contagious diseases in the world, more than just flu, polio, covid or almost any other infectious disease.

Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center in the Philadelphia children’s hospital, states that West Texas only reported 14 cases last week. This week there are up to 90 cases. “It is very difficult to control measles,” he says.

The best defense against measles is vaccination. The vast majority of people who get sick in Texas is not vaccinated. And the measles vaccine is both safe and very effective, says Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

“If you have been vaccinated with two doses in the vaccine, you have a 95 percent chance of being completely protected all your life,” says Schaffner.

However, experts in public health say that there are some adults who should consider being revised. These include older adults who were born after 1957 and were vaccinated before 1968.

This is because early versions of the measles vaccine were made from an inactivated (killed) virus, which did not work particularly well, says Offit. For this reason, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone who was vaccinated before 1968 receives at least one dose of the living vaccine.

Before the first measles vaccines were developed in the 1960s, almost everyone received the illness during childhood. So it is believed that people who were born before 1957 have natural immunity.

Schaffner says that if you are not sure of your immunity or vaccination status, it does not hurt to get a shot.

If they were vaccinated between 1968 and 1989, they probably only received a dose of measles vaccine instead of the two doses that are standard today. A dose alone is very effective and offers more than enough protection for most people, says Dr. Adam Ratner, specialist for pediatric infectious diseases in New York City and author of author of Booster recordingsA book about the history of measles.

According to Ratner, however, there are several situations in which the CDC recommends an additional dose of measles vaccine for adults that are considered high risk. This includes people who are in College environments, work in healthcare, live or in close contact with immunocompromised people or travel internationally.

“If you are on the road somewhere where there is an active outbreak and you are not sure whether you have two cans, it may not be crazy to get a second dose,” says Ratner.

And if you live in a community in which a measles outbreak is experienced, your local Ministry of Health can recommend a second dose for adults.

It is worth ensuring that they are protected because adults develop complications from measles over 20 more frequently, including pneumonia and swelling of the brain.

And measles can also be dangerous for children – if not fatal. Up to 1 of 20 children with measles receive pneumonia, and 1 of 1,000 develop encephalitis or swelling of the brain – which can lead to death or cause numbness or intellectual disabilities.

The nationwide kindergartens -vaccination rates fell below the 95% threshold that the centers need for the control and prevention of diseases to prevent outbursts in the disease. In some parts of the United States, prices are far lower. This includes Gaines County, Texas, the epicenter of the outbreak of the state, in which the vaccination rate is only around 80%.

According to Offit, vaccination is the best way to protect children.

“I lived through the 1991 Philadelphia measles epidemic, in which there were 1,400 cases and nine deaths over a period of three months,” he says. “So I saw how children suffered unnecessarily because they don’t get any vaccine. So vaccinate their children.”

Published by Jane Greenhalgh