In mid-December, a measles outbreak started at Disneyland, in Orange County, California. That outbreak has now infected one hundred people in California, and twenty-five people in other states across America. With this outbreak and others that occurred recently, there were over six hundred measles cases in 2014. Before this outbreak, the average number of measles cases in the United States annually was approximately 100 (Corum). In 2014, California also had the highest amount of whooping cough cases in sixty years. Nationally, 2014 had thirty percent more cases of whooping cough than 2013 (Dickson). Both measles and whooping cough are preventable by vaccines. Vaccinations have saved 132,000 lives in the past twenty years, and yet one in five
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However, in 2014 the United States had a record amount of measles cases. How did the United States get from elimination to outbreak? First, we should clarify what was meant by "elimination." This did not mean that there would never be another case of measles in the United States; it meant that any case in the United States would come from an international traveller (Berman). The chances of an international traveler bringing measles is reasonably high, as measles is still fairly common in some European countries, Asia, and Africa. If a traveller brought measles, herd immunity would 've stopped the disease from spreading, because the majority of the population would 've been vaccinated. In 2014, there were more than a dozen outbreaks of measles in the U.S., and three times more cases than a normal year. So, the U.S.A. came from elimination of measles to a record high amount of cases in fifteen years because of unvaccinated citizens (Berman). Since parents who will not give their child the MMR vaccine (often because of Andrew Wakefield 's discredited study) will often give them other vaccines, the United States has almost eliminated many other diseases such as diphtheria, polio, and smallpox. With the help of vaccines, the US has almost eliminated those diseases, as well as ten others. Parents who do not vaccinate their children are stopping us from eliminating many diseases we could already be rid
However, in 2014 the United States had a record amount of measles cases. How did the United States get from elimination to outbreak? First, we should clarify what was meant by "elimination." This did not mean that there would never be another case of measles in the United States; it meant that any case in the United States would come from an international traveller (Berman). The chances of an international traveler bringing measles is reasonably high, as measles is still fairly common in some European countries, Asia, and Africa. If a traveller brought measles, herd immunity would 've stopped the disease from spreading, because the majority of the population would 've been vaccinated. In 2014, there were more than a dozen outbreaks of measles in the U.S., and three times more cases than a normal year. So, the U.S.A. came from elimination of measles to a record high amount of cases in fifteen years because of unvaccinated citizens (Berman). Since parents who will not give their child the MMR vaccine (often because of Andrew Wakefield 's discredited study) will often give them other vaccines, the United States has almost eliminated many other diseases such as diphtheria, polio, and smallpox. With the help of vaccines, the US has almost eliminated those diseases, as well as ten others. Parents who do not vaccinate their children are stopping us from eliminating many diseases we could already be rid