Measles in the United States

measles virus, cdc photo

The CDC reports that measles are on the rise in the United States, estimating that 2013 will see a 400% increase in the typical number of cases.

Measles are a respiratory disease caused by a virus.  As such, once contracted, there's no real cure...only palliative care.

Measles are highly contagious and, if one person has them, over 90% of the people close to that person, who are not immune, will also contract the disease.

About 10% of patients will develop ear infections and about 5% will develop pneumonia.  Rare, but more serious, about 1 out of 1,000 patients will get encephalitis and 1 or 2 out of 1,000 will die.

About 26% of the recent cases have been specifically linked to international travel and the remaining cases are presumed to be contracted from those original cases.

Measles vaccines are estimated to be 95-98% effective, although an increasing number of parents decline vaccination for health, religious, ethical or moral reasons; and vaccination itself is not without a small risk factor. 

Additionally, the effectiveness of the measles vaccine appears to wane in about 5% of the population after 10-15 years.

On the other hand, it's good to keep things in perspective.  The 400% increase estimated for the United States in 2013 means about 240 cases...and we have a population of 314,000,000.

The primary risk, at this time, is for those with no immunity and international travel.