Over the past few days, the state of Washington has been experiencing a measles outbreak where at least 34 cases have been confirmed. The majority of cases are located right on the border between Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA. At least 30 of the cases are confirmed to have been people who did not receive the measles vaccine and at least 24 are children between the ages of 1 and 10. The Washington government declared a state of emergency over the weekend and are hoping to use these resources to stop the spread of the highly contagious virus quickly.
Recently, there has been a increase in the number of anti-vax families. However, through this outbreak and the many more that we are seeing around the country one can hope these people realize that measles is not a virus to be messed with. Exposed people from Washington have been confirmed to have attended basketball games and even travelled in the last few days. Time will only tell if the virus will spread even further or if the increased resources will stop it now. Health officials are urging families (especially with children) to stay vigilant and look for symptoms. The recommendation is to call health officials before taking someone into a clinic as the air-borne virus can be incredibly contagious.
-Alexandra Ulmer
Domineering Ta of Doom (Cole)
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/26/health/washington-state-measles-state-of-emergency/index.html
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