Thanks in part to anti-vaccination advocates, measles is making a comeback

As the number of cases in the United States continues to increase at an alarming rate, new cases of measles in Canada feed worries that the outbreak will get worse and spread.

The four new cases identified in Toronto – two toddlers and two adults – appear to be all unconnected, and where they acquired measles remains a mystery. These cases come on the heels of 102 new registered cases in 14 US states being reported, following up on over 600 cases seen last year in the US.

The current outbreak started in California’s Disneyland, when an unvaccinated family who had measles entered the park and has alarmingly spread across the continent. Measles was officially eradicated in the year 2000, but now with the new cases seen in Toronto, it means that the disease is making its rounds within the city.

Health officials on both sides of the border are trying desperately to prevent a full-blown outbreak by asking people to take a look at their vaccination histories and make sure they are up to date, regardless of their age. Most commonly the protective shot is administered as a three-in-one vaccine – measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

People born before 1970 are thought to have natural immunity because of early exposure to the virus. Those born between 1970 and 1996 received one dose, while those born after 1996 got two doses of the measles vaccine.

Measles was basically eradicated for the most part in North America, and the handful of new cases seen annually was mostly due to travellers getting infected in other countries where there are regular outbreaks and bringing them home.

“Although mortality tends to be highest in the very young and immunocompromised, we don’t have much experience with natural measles in adults,” said infectious disease specialist Brian Ward of McGill University. “In fact, it can be very severe in adults.”

However, the current resurgence of the measles is really due in large part to the anti-vaccine movement across North America. People should be aware that the supposed dangers associating the vaccine to autism have been totally discounted and that the theories circulating over the internet are all bogus. The lead argument has been related to Mercury being used as a preservative in the MMR vaccine, but that is just not true. Studies of regions where vaccination rates have increased have shown no changes in rates of autism.

And the frustration is clearly growing among the health care community with some doctors in California – the epicentre of the current outbreak – actually dropping patients that refuse to get themselves and their children vaccinated.

The fact that people have been scared away from getting themselves and their children vaccinated has led to the re-introduction of the deadly virus back into the community at large and making the general population more susceptible. Health officials say that this will just lead to more person-to-person spears in those that don’t have full immunity. And the most at risk are children under the age of one, simply because they are too young to get vaccinated.

Symptoms to look out for? Fever, runny nose, drowsiness, sensitivity to light, and the tell-tale appearance of those red spots that start in the face and make their way down the rest of the body. Unlike the flu and other common viruses, it can take up 10 to 12 days for the first symptoms to appear after being exposed, while the person is still infectious.

If you suspect you may have measles, go see a healthcare provider right away because it is highly contagious. In fact, measles is considered one of them most contagious of all known viruses and can spread in the air through aerosol droplets for up to two hours.

“Measles is highly contagious (even compared to other contagious diseases),” Ward said.

“It is probably one of – if not the – most contagious of human infections.”

Finally, to underscore the seriousness of the current situation, the Public Health Agency of Canada has issued a Travel Health Notice warning all travellers to get their vaccinations up to date before going abroad.