Measles
Health officials expect the outbreak to worsen because of low vaccine rates and undetected infections. Vaccine misinformation and new laws may make such situations more common and harder to contain.
Dr. Roy Benaroch explains how measles can spread, what short-term and long-term effects measles can have on children, and what steps parents can take to keep their kids and communities healthy.
Dr. Mark Griffiths, an Atlanta pediatrician, said he has seen flu cases rising in children of all ages.
Public health practitioners warn such outbreaks will become more common because of scores of laws around the United States — pending and passed — that ultimately lower vaccine rates.
A local health department epidemiologist said the state has identified over 300 people exposed to measles from the initial case.
The first metro Atlanta case was reported in someone who had been traveling within the United States. Now two relatives have the measles.
The person wasn’t vaccinated against the virus and had been traveling within the United States, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Many states have recently reported an increase in people opting out of vaccines for their kids as Americans’ views shift.
When Carter started his NGO after leaving the White House, he reached out to Dr. Bill Foege, known for his role in leading the eradication of smallpox, to run it.
Inoculation campaigns that protect children and adults from dangerous diseases rely on a delicate web of state and federal laws and programs. If senior officials cast doubt on vaccine safety, the whole system might collapse, especially in red states.
Dr. Alicia Fry of the Task Force for Global Health in Decatur says the key tool of prevention is the same everywhere — access to immunization.
Some counties have very low rates, and all that's needed in those unvaccinated pockets is a spark — an infected person traveling — to spread measles like wildfire.
Misinformation coupled with a parental rights movement that shifts decision-making away from public health expertise has contributed to the lowest childhood vaccine rates in a decade.
Measles is on the rise in the United States. It’s going to get worse, largely because a growing number of parents are deciding not to get their children vaccinated against measles, as well as diseases like polio and pertussis.