Measles, mumps, rubella: vaccination is key

When was the last time you saw a child with measles? Vaccines, such as MMR, the combination vaccine that prevents measles, as well as mumps and rubella, have all but done away with these once-common ailments. Still, that doesn’t mean they don’t exist; it just means the vaccines are doing their jobs.

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Aug. 21 that there has been an increase in the number of measles cases reported so far this year and the highest number year-to-date since 1996.

More than 130 cases of the measles were diagnosed from January through July 2008 – more than twice the number of cases reported in all of 2006-2007 – though no measles cases were reported in Texas during that time.

Immunizations have cut most vaccine-preventable diseases by more than 99 percent, according to the CDC. Among the recent outbreaks of measles, 91 percent of the cases were in persons who had not received the recommended vaccine or for whom their vaccination status was unknown, the CDC says.

Vaccines protect your community as well as your children. In an effect called “herd immunity,” when more children get their shots, there is a reduced circulation of the virus and, as a consequence, it’s less likely that a community-wide outbreak can occur.

The CDC, doctors and researchers work hard to make sure vaccines are safe. Severe side effects are rare, according to statistics kept by the CDC. The measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR) is very safe and effective; on the other hand, measles is a serious illness that can be complicated with pneumonia (severe infection of the lungs) and occasionally with encephalitis (a serious form of brain infection).

Tags: measles, mumps, rubella, vaccination