One might think that a wealthy nation like America could defeat most of the communicable diseases that have plagued (no pun intended) mankind for millennia. Not so. Measles, declared eradicated in the US back in 2004, has increased its incidence some 20-fold in the years since (albeit from a vey low start point).
The reason is lack of vaccination. When you vaccinate a large preponderance of the kids, you confer "herd immunity" - though not everyone is vaccinated, enough are that the pathogen cannot move through the population. (Some folks, due to reactions to a given vaccine, cannot be vaccinated.) A while back, during an outbreak here in Arizona, we noted that those not vaccinating their children were either those in a quite conservative rural religious community on our northern border, or in trendy, upscale northern California communities - quite an interesting combination. Folks in the latter group seem to continue to believe in a thoroughly debunked UK study (one study only) that claimed to tie vaccine to autism. One wonders what other fairy tales they subscribe to. Perhaps we should teach science a bit better in our schools....
Speaking of schools, the recent measles (and other) outbreaks put particular pressure on schools, and on those (like us, commercial janitorial services) who clean them. That's one reason we stress sanitation - hitting touch points throughout the facility with a hydrogen peroxide cleaner/sanitizer, delivered via a microfiber cloth. Better to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Comments