Woman who lost her measles brother, troubled by people who gave up the vaccine

As the epidemic develops, a woman in Spokane says she is troubled by people choosing not to use the vaccine.

Her family was hit hard by measles. His brother died of encephalitis or swelling of the brain and his mother lost the sight of one eye, one and the other complications of the virus. It happened when they could not choose whether to receive the vaccine or not, it just did not exist.

"We have moved away from people who have been tested for measles and know how serious it is," Michele said. "I'm not trying to say that everyone has to do that, but take a good look.It's a serious illness, and it's not just a bad rash. skin. "

She said that she had vaccinated her children as soon as she could and was happy to know that they could be protected.

"This is one of the most infectious diseases we know and one of the most serious," said Mark Springer, Epidemiologist at the Spokane Regional Health District.

Measles can persist in an area for more than two hours after the departure of an infected person.

He says they are monitoring the situation from the other side of the state and are cautiously optimistic about reducing the threat of a larger epidemic.

"It seems that the measures put in place make it possible to control the situation," he said. "There are only a handful of exposure sites left and what they have been able to do, most new cases of measles are mostly isolated since their initial exposure."

He warns though that with outbreaks in other states, a single plane or car ride to the east of Washington may set off another if people are not vaccinated.

He encourages everyone to be vaccinated against measles if they have not already taken note of the fact that the medical evidence shows that they are safe and highly effective.

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