Five babies near Chicago get measles; are enough Americans

vaccinated?
By Chicago Tribune, adapted by Newsela staff
02.08.15
Grade Level 8

Word Count 848

Five babies at a day care center near Chicago

have been diagnosed with the measles, health
officials announced Thursday. Public health
officials are investigating the cluster of
measles cases at the KinderCare Learning
Center in suburban Palatine, Illinois.
Laboratory testing has confirmed two of the
cases, while the other three are waiting for
final test results. All five babies are under the
age of 1 and are too young to be vaccinated.
Measles Outbreaks In 2 States
The announcement comes about a week after
the states first case of measles of the year
was confirmed. Cook County health officials
Pediatrician Charles Goodman (right) talks with patient Carmen Lopez, 37, holding
would only identify the person with measles as
a suburban resident who is older than 18. At the her 18-month-old son, Daniel, after being vaccinated with the measles-mumpsrubella vaccine (MMR) at his practice in Northridge, California, Jan. 29, 2015.
time, officials listed three places where others
Photo: AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes
might have come into contact with the measles
patient in mid-January including two in
Palatine. Cook County officials say its not clear if the adult measles case is linked to the children at the day care
center or to the outbreak at Disneyland. More than 100 people have caught the respiratory disease at the California
theme park this winter.
Students and staff at the Palatine daycare center have been notified of the measles cases. Anyone who has not
received the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) has been told to stay at home until Feb. 24, said Colleen
Moran. She is the spokeswoman for KinderCare, which runs 1,500 centers in the United States.
High Fever And Rash
Moran said the center was following Cook County Public Health Department guidelines.
We just want everyone to recover quickly and to stay safe, Moran said.
Officials say anyone who is unvaccinated and experiences measles symptoms should call their local health
department and their doctor. Symptoms include a high fever and rash.
Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease that can cause severe health problems, including pneumonia,
brain swelling and death. Its spread by contact with an infected person through coughing or sneezing and can remain
in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours. Infected people are contagious from four days before their rash starts
through four days afterward.
Vaccination Is The Key
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Academy of Pediatrics and American
Academy of Family Physicians all recommend that children get their first dose of the MMR vaccine at 12 to 15
months old. Children should receive a second shot at 4 to 6 years old, before starting kindergarten.
Nationally, 92 percent of children receive the MMR vaccine. Despite this, one child in 12 in the United States is not
receiving the first dose of MMR vaccine on time. According to the CDC, this highlights why so many children are
exposed to catching the measles.
Unvaccinated children are among the most likely to get the measles, said Dr. Wendell Wheeler of Ingalls Memorial
Hospital in Harvey, Illinois. Measles is one of the most contagious of all diseases.
The very young have small airways, Wheeler said. The disease has thick mucus and the two dont go together.
They are not moving air well and they get into trouble, he said.
Second Dose Is Needed
If a child has only the first dose of the measles vaccine, he or she may not be fully protected. About 5 to 10 percent
are not immune after just one dose, which is why a second dose is necessary, said Dr. Tina Tan. She is an infectious
disease expert at Lurie Childrens Hospital in Chicago.
If given at the appropriate interval and age, after two doses of measles vaccine a person is considered protected for
life, she said.

Those who are too young to get vaccinated are protected by the vast majority of people who are vaccinated. This
effect is called herd immunity.
However, when the vaccination rate drops below 95 percent, the community loses its herd immunity, Tan explained.
Herd Immunity Matters
Herd immunity "matters because the virus has no place to go, Wheeler said. If it hits person 1 and theyre immune
and person 2 and theyre immune But if it hits person 1 who is not immune, well, it can increase exponentially.
The MMR vaccine is required for Illinois students. Statewide, the percentage of school children who follow the state
rules has remained about 98 percent over the past decade, according to the Illinois State Board of Education. But
that figure includes both those who got the vaccine and those who officially opted out of vaccinations for religious or
medical reasons, according to the agency.
Heather Robinson took her 15-month-old daughter for the MMR shot last month. The child broke out into a rash that
covered every inch of her body it was even in her ears, said her mother, who lives in Homewood, a suburb of
Chicago. I was totally freaking out. I thought it was measles.
The rash turned out to be just a reaction to the shot. Still, Robinson is glad she got her daughter vaccinated.
I have friends who dont vaccinate they admit that theyre depending on others to be responsible, which is kind of
hypocritical," she said.