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KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) – According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, measles was declared eliminated throughout the country in 2000, but this statement could have been at the root of the current epidemic.
"Since then, everyone thought that measles was gone and that it would never come back, so vaccination rates have gone down, so measles is coming back," said Richard Van Enk, Director of Infection Control. and Epidemiology at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo.
Van Enk told 24 Hour News 8 that there were enough people who were not immune to coping with an outbreak.
Measles is one of the most contagious common infectious diseases, he said. Anyone actively infected with measles may leave traces of viral infection on the surfaces encountered.
The symptoms are very varied, as well as the complications that may result from the disease.
"One in 1,000 people who get measles dies, it's not just a cold," Van Enk told 24 Hour News 8 on Thursday night.
"There is no treatment for measles," he added. "You survive or you do not survive."
While viral infections like the flu can cause other death-causing complications, health officials say an outbreak of the disease is different.
"People who die of measles usually die alone," Van Enk said.
He said that there were usually about 100 measles cases reported in the United States each year, but that at present there are more 500 confirmed cases Across the country. Dozens of these cases are in southeastern Michigan.
Van Enk explained that to combat this current epidemic, all who can get vaccinated must do so.
"There are always a few people in the population who can not be immunized because of another illness that they have," he said. "Getting a vaccine protects people other than the person who takes it."
Health officials warned that there had been a poor amount of vaccines administered across the country between 1963 and 1968. Van Enk told 24 Hour News 8 that people who have probably received a vaccination failure are probably between 51 and 62 years old and may not know that they are not. immune.
If in doubt, it is recommended that you ask a doctor for a reminder.
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Online:
CDC on measles
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