82 children infected in Ohio measles outbreak

Measles epidemic in the center Ohio it has now infected 82 children – 32 have been hospitalized – as experts fear that the virus, once defeated, will re-emerge.

Officials in Columbus, Ohio, the state’s largest city, confirmed the infections and reported that 74 of the infected children had not been vaccinated against measles – and four were only partially vaccinated. Almost all infected people are under five years old.

Although once one of the most dangerous infections in the world, measles deaths have fallen significantly since an effective vaccine was introduced in 1968. In 2000, the US considered it eliminated as an endemic infection.

However, the Covid pandemic has reduced vaccination rates worldwide. Experts fear that this decline in immunity will allow these once defeated viruses to return to the developed world. Earlier this year, New York City recorded by USA’ the first confirmed case of polio in more than a decade.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Columbus officials first confirmed the measles outbreak in November — when there were 24 cases.

At the time, investigators linked the outbreak to nine daycare centers and two pediatric hospitals in the area.

In the latest update Tuesday morning, the city is now reporting 82 cases in Columbus itself and in the surrounding areas.

Slightly less than half, 32, of the cases required hospitalization. No deaths have yet been linked to the outbreak.

The CDC estimates that 130,000 people die from measles worldwide each year, although deaths in the United States are rare. Up to two out of every 1,000 infected people die.

‘We are working diligently on cases to identify any potential exposure and notify people who have been exposed,’ said Dr. Mysheika Roberts, commissioner of Columbus Public Health, in a Nov. 9 statement.

‘The most important thing you can do to protect yourself from measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is safe and very effective.’

The MMR vaccine is a three-in-one injection that prevents three potentially fatal conditions – measles, mumps and rubella.

A child should receive the first injection between the ages of 12 and 15 months. Only the first injection is 93 percent effective against infection.

They should receive the second dose at the age of four to six, which will increase their protection against the virus to 97 percent.

However, many infected children did not receive the vaccine, leaving them vulnerable to the disease.

‘Measles is highly contagious and preventable,’ said Joe Mazzola, health commissioner for Franklin County, which includes Columbus.

‘It can be a serious disease, so we strongly encourage anyone who has not been vaccinated to get vaccinated to prevent further spread.’

This epidemic has so far mainly affected young children. Officials report 23 infections in children under one year old, and 36 among children aged one or two.

Only five cases are in children older than six years. No infections have yet been reported in adults.

The first symptoms of measles will often appear a week after a person is infected.

A sick person often has a high temperature, cough, runny nose and red eyes.

In the following days, the virus causes a rash that can spread all over the face, neck, arms, legs and feet.

Unlike many other rashes, the spots caused by measles usually do not hurt or itch.

Small white spots may also appear in an infected person. Small children, people with weakened immunity and the elderly are most at risk.

Measles first became known in the US in the early 1900s, and federal officials declared it a nationally notifiable disease in 1912.

The virus killed about 6,000 Americans each year before scientists first developed a vaccine in 1963.

Since then, measles rates in the U.S. have declined, and successful vaccine campaigns have all but eliminated it as a regular threat to Americans.

In 2000, US officials declared that the virus had been eliminated from the US population.

However, it occasionally occurs in America. Although 90 percent of the population is vaccinated by age two, the CDC reports, the remaining unvaccinated people are vulnerable.

In 2019, the nation was hit by the largest measles outbreak in decades, with 1,274 confirmed infections in 31 states.

This outbreak could be related to the isolation due to the disease of COVID-19 and other pandemic measures that have interrupted medical treatment in the last two years.

The World Health Organization warned in July that the pandemic had created a global ‘backslide’ in vaccinations around the world.

Officials now fear that rare but dangerous viruses like measles could re-emerge around the world.

During the summer, the US recorded its first case of polio in more than a decade not far from New York.

Although only one case has been confirmed, wastewater data show that there were likely thousands more that went undetected.

Some have also warned that the anti-vaccination movement fueled by the backlash against Covid vaccines has also left many young children vulnerable.