A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that cases of measles, a virus that can cause serious side effects and sometimes death, has made a sharp climb in the United States. In most years, about 60 cases are reported nationwide; however, in 2011, the country saw 222 cases, and health officials worry the trend will continue.
It has often been true that the vast majority of cases of measles in the United States are brought into the country by travelers from places where the vaccination rate is not as large as here. The same holds true for almost all disease for which Americans routinely get vaccinated, such as chickenpox and whooping cough.
What's different is that the countries of origin are not the usual suspects of Third World poverty. People from Western Europe are bringing the measles virus into the country with them and finding a larger share of the American population without the immunizations needed to ward off the disease. Such developments are troubling.
Some in the population still believe there are connections between immunizations and conditions such as autism, even though those who touted such links have been rebuked and refuted. Others greatly overestimate the true incidence of side effects.
There was a time in which there was no vaccine for the disease, and hundreds of otherwise healthy children died every year.
Those times should be long past. If you have a child, make sure he or she is current on vaccinations.
The progress of health should not be thwarted by baseless fears.