Apropos of class discussion about vaccine compliance and public policy, check out Adrienne LaFrance’s article from The Atlantic on how Measles is re-emerging in many countries – including the United States –  that have considered it eradicated for decades.

Click here to visit the article

The numbers in recent years are nothing like the devastation that Measles used to visit in the US, however, it is the trend that is disturbing. Prior to the introduction of the vaccine, cases numbered in the hundreds of thousands per year in the US. Globally, in 2013, there were 145 700 measles deaths compared to an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year prior to widespread immunization. (data from the WHO)

Measles cases in the US prior to and after the introduction of vaccine Langmuir AD. Medical importance of measles. Am J Dis Child 1962;103:54-56

Some Data

Measles Cases in the US 2001 – 2014