The measles, a virus that affects one’s pulmonary system, has long since been eradicated from the Americas. However, recent outbreaks have posed an alarming threat. This article talks about the importance of vaccination in preventing the disease’s comeback.
The disease was first declared eliminated in the United States in 2000 by the CDC. However, a recent report suggests that measles are on a rise. The primary cause: different strains of the disease are brought into the US from different countries. These cases of “imported measles” tend to target unvaccinated children, in particular. According to the report, the children who had the measles had recently traveled abroad, and none had received their recommended measles, mumps, or rubella vaccinations.
So what is the cause for these outbreaks? One of the main reasons is a difference in rules and regulations for vaccination between different countries. While one country may require travelling children to be vaccinated starting at age 1, another may not require vaccination and immunization until an age of 4 years. Now, the CDC is recommending that any child over the age of 6 months receive a dose of the MMR (mumps, measles, rubella) vaccine.
I thought this article was interesting in that it brought up issues mentioned in class, such as the concept of the double burden of disease. As mentioned in the past, with rapid globalization comes some drastic health consequences. One of these consequences includes the spread of disease that was previously thought to be eradicated. This article is a perfect portrayal of the consequences of globalization and the spread of disease, and in this case, it is important for everyone to be vaccinated before traveling to a foreign country so as to prevent the spread of disease.
link: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/07/kids-traveling-abroad-need-measles-vaccine/
I like how this article really brings home the importance of having global cooperation and standards for health issues. It's not enough for one country to have good policies in place, if other cultures don't, diseases such as measles that were once almost eliminated can become a problem again.
ReplyDeleteIt seems strange to me that different countries would have such different standards for vaccinations. It would make sense that they were implemented at different rates or with different levels of success, but from a medical point of view it seems like there are certain ages when children biologically need vaccines for them to be effective, so I would think that these standards would be consistent across cultures. I guess this is another example of culture being a huge force in health.
I think this article raises the need to have a baseline international standard regarding vaccines. With increasing globalization, comes the elevated threat of passing communicable diseases across borders. It seems a waste to not use the technology that has already been developed to fight a disease simply because there are no international guidelines. This is important as diseases that may have already been eradicated or close to eradication can come become a major problem again.
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