By Sherrie Chen
The measles outbreak led to controversy sparking these days. Some people disregard the recommendations to vaccinate for variety of reasons. However, according to authorities, the scientific and medical consensus is clear: Vaccinations are safe, and they work.
The Measles outbreak until January 30 had 102 cases of measles reported across 14 states.The majority were related to Disneyland in California which had a large number of visitors as well as huge population migration.
Compared to 644 cases of measles reported last year, the current case of 102 outbreaks is alarming. One month into the new year, the number of measles cases is nearly one-sixth of last year’s total. Last year’s 644 measles cases is an outlier compared to the previous decade which made the situation seemed worse. The number of measles cases in 2014 was the highest since 2000 for  the median number of measles cases reported per year from 2001 to 2011 was 62.
The highest number of cases in a single year was 220, and the lowest was 37 in this time period, according to  Dr. Anne Schacht, assistant surgeon general and director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. The CDC points out that when measles finds its way into these communities when people refusing to use vaccines, outbreaks are more likely to occur making controlling the disease becomes harder.
Measles is actually a highly communicable respiratory disease caused by a virus and spread through the air starting with a fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes and sore throat. “This is not a problem with the measles vaccine not working,” Schacht said. “This is a problem of the measles vaccine not being used.”
