Sadly, my fears are already being manifested in a growing measles outbreak in South Carolina. The outbreak began on October 2nd and appears to be accelerating dramatically. The SC DPH reports that there are now 558 confirmed cases of measles in the upstate region centered around Spartanburg County, with another 531 in quarantine. This is an increase of 124 new cases in just a week.
All of these cases are occurring in unvaccinated residents. The risk of death from measles is 3.5 per 1,000. That doesn’t sound like much, but in unvaccinated populations, everyone gets infected. Even though much of the world is vaccinated against measles, there were still 95,000 deaths. There are also potential serious complications:
- blindness
- encephalitis (an infection causing brain swelling and potentially brain damage)
- severe diarrhoea and related dehydration
- ear infections
- severe breathing problems, including pneumonia.
On top of that, measles wipes out your immune memory, so any previous disease that you had built up an immunity to is lost. I would advise everyone to check their vaccine status and get a booster if they need it. I have a whole section on measles if you want to learn more.