Wednesday, February 11, 2015

The Measles Outbreak: Is Your Family at Risk?

You may think you and your kids won't catch the measles, but it's an extremely contagious disease, doctors say. Read on to learn what caused the recent outbreak, who's at risk and whether you should get the vaccine…

Wondering if the news about the recent measles outbreak is overblown? Actually, it's time to take this illness seriously.

"Measles is the most contagious disease out there," says Rekha Murthy ^[1], M.D., medical director of the Hospital Epidemiology Department and professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

"If one person has it, up to 20 people in the immediate vicinity can come down with it," she warns.

The viral disease is on the rise: 102 cases of measles were reported in 14 states in January this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Last year, there were 644 cases, the greatest number since 1994.

Most of the recent cases were caused by unvaccinated travelers becoming infected abroad and bringing the virus into the United States, the CDC says. The current measles outbreak started at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., in December. At least 40 visitors and workers at the theme park contracted the disease.