Question: What is the big deal about measles?

4Q Basket Case · May 8, 2019

Serious question here: What's the big deal about the measles?

When I was a kid, it was just another rite of passage -- mumps, measles and chicken pox. We all got all of them, and it was just another part of childhood. Some moms (not mine) even had parties where they would intentionally expose their kids. The logic being that they were going to get the illnesses anyway, so they'd try to control the timing to avoid missing school, family events, etc. Again, Mama Basket Case didn't do that, but some moms did.

Anyway, I got all three at about the normal times, and it was more of a check-the-box exercise in growing up.

So what's the big deal now? Is measles worse now than it was 50 years ago? From all the breathless news reports, you'd' think Ebola was pandemic.

Please, let's keep this limited to the measles virus and out of Politics. No debates pro or con on vaccinations.

92tide · May 8, 2019

it's a pretty nasty disease that used to (prior to widespread vaccination) lead to a lot of deaths

from vaccines.gov

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases there is. If 1 person has it, 9 out of 10 people close to that person who aren’t immune (protected) will also get measles. And it can be dangerous — serious cases of measles can lead to brain damage and even death

gman4tide · May 8, 2019

Never heard of measles/mumps get togethers...but have heard of the chicken pox gatherings. I'm 51 and am pretty sure i was vaccinated for both when i was a child and didn't get either of the m's. My understanding of them were they were bad unlike the pox, which i got in the 6th or 7th grade (and yes, seems all of us on our street got them at the same time).

DzynKingRTR · May 8, 2019

I don't remember measles/mumps parties. I definitely remember chicken pox parties. I and my whole class and my sisters had chicken pox when I was in kindergarten. I have always heard chicken pox is better to get when young because as an adult it can kill. My dad had to move out for a week because he had never had it.

Measles/mumps can kill no matter the age. I was vaccinated and had to get the booster to even be accepted into college. I seem to remember auburn getting shut down because of a measles outbreak (early 90's?)

Crimson1967 · May 8, 2019

I had chicken pox and mumps as a kid, but got a vaccine for measles with another for college in the 1990s. (I am 51).

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4Q Basket Case · May 8, 2019

Just curious...when did the measles vaccine come out?

I had what we then called the “red measles” in the mid-60s, before it was available. But, having already had the illness, I didn’t need it when it was later developed.

crimsonaudio · May 8, 2019

4Q Basket Case said:
Just curious...when did the measles vaccine come out?

I had what we then called the “red measles” in the mid-60s, before it was available. But, having already had the illness, I didn’t need it when it was later developed.

Measles vaccine was first developed in 1963.

BamaNation · May 8, 2019

gman4tide said:
Never heard of measles/mumps get togethers...but have heard of the chicken pox gatherings. I'm 51 and am pretty sure i was vaccinated for both when i was a child and didn't get either of the m's. My understanding of them were they were bad unlike the pox, which i got in the 6th or 7th grade (and yes, seems all of us on our street got them at the same time).

The kids book series “The Great Brain” written by John D. Fitzgerald in early 70’s is about growing up in the late 1800s and, if I correctly remember, has as one of its stories brothers being made to have a mumps party.

4Q Basket Case · May 9, 2019

crimsonaudio said:
Measles vaccine was first developed in 1963.

Remembering back to where we lived and other things going on about that time, I think I would have had measles in 1966.

lowend · May 9, 2019

crimsonaudio said:
Measles vaccine was first developed in 1963.

What's up with that spike from 88-92? Is that when Reagan granted amnesty to all those illegals?

crimsonaudio · May 9, 2019

lowend said:
What's up with that spike from 88-92? Is that when Reagan granted amnesty to all those illegals?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1022280/

4Q Basket Case · May 9, 2019

lowend said:
What's up with that spike from 88-92? Is that when Reagan granted amnesty to all those illegals?

Let's be careful here. When I posted the question, I knew it had the potential to devolve into a political debate.

It's a documented fact that measles can be controlled, and close to eradicated, by widespread use of the vaccine.

This is about the measles virus and whether it's stronger now than it was prior to the widespread use of the vaccine. It's not about anything else.

gman4tide · May 9, 2019

BamaNation said:
The kids book series “The Great Brain” written by John D. Fitzgerald in early 70’s is about growing up in the late 1800s and, if I correctly remember, has as one of its stories brothers being made to have a mumps party.

Im old, but not that old &#55357;&#56837;. I was meaning i didnt know of m/m parties in my lifetime. &#55357;&#56833;

NationalTitles18 · May 10, 2019

4Q Basket Case said:
Let's be careful here. When I posted the question, I knew it had the potential to devolve into a political debate.

It's a documented fact that measles can be controlled, and close to eradicated, by widespread use of the vaccine.

This is about the measles virus and whether it's stronger now than it was prior to the widespread use of the vaccine. It's not about anything else.

Is the virus stronger?

No. It's the same strength and that should be concerning enough to anyone with knowledge of what can happen to the human body when this preventable disease is present.

TIDE-HSV · May 11, 2019

crimsonaudio said:
Measles vaccine was first developed in 1963.

Remarkable graph! Those wild swings before vaccination are puzzling. BTW, since I had the measles in the '40s. In fact, I had more varieties than strains of measles existed. It puzzled the doctors. Since I've read that measles depresses the immune system for a couple of years, causing deaths that don't even register as being from measles, it makes me wonder. I just never caught the mumps, at least not that could be detected, and I remember my parents being very concerned, since mumps in adults is much more severe and dangerous...

TIDE-HSV · May 11, 2019

Something tickled my memory, so I looked it up. Around 30-40% of mumps sufferers show no symptoms at all. It's likely I did have them. In fact, being born before 1957, it's presumed I'm immune...

jthomas666 · May 11, 2019

4Q Basket Case said:
Serious question here: What's the big deal about the measles?

A couple of things--

1. as someone noted, it can cause a number of serious complications, such as deafness or long term respiratory effects.
2. It is INCREDIBLY contagious, up to two weeks before primary symptoms appear. It is so contagious that to achieve herd immunity, 95% of the population must be vaccinated.
3. Kids cannot be vaccinated until 12 months--and because their immune systems aren't fully developed (which is why they can't get the vaccine), they are more likely to suffer long term consequences.

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Question: What is the big deal about measles?

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