Measles Vaccine example essay topic

Measles Rubeola, or the measles, is a highly contagious viral infection. It is caused by the spread of the paramyxovirus. The symptoms of the Measles are a fever, a cough, an itchy spreading rash, and a painful sore throat. It usually takes seven to fourteen days for these symptoms to appear, that time period is called an incubation period. There is no cure for the measles but it can be prevented through vacancies... SYMPTOMS The first symptoms of the measles include a barking painful cough, a runny nose.

After that the victim may start to develop muscle pains, bloodshot eyes, and a fever. Then they develop tiny white spots inside their mouths called Koplik's spots. A person may also develop a sense of photophobia, sensitivity to light, and then, the best-known symptom develops, the rash. The rash appears around the fifth day of the disease. It may last anywhere from four to seven days.

It usually first appears on the face or head, then starts to slowly spread down the rest of the body. It is a maculopapular rash, which means it appears as both macules which are flat, discolored areas, and papules, which are solid, red, raised areas that may later join together. They may bleed slightly, and are painful. Treatment There is no set treatment for the measles. It is treated differently by how bad of a case the individual has, as well as their symptoms and personal information. An individual who has measles is kept apart from other people who have not had it, or have not been vaccinated.

Their sore throat and fever can be treated with over the counter pain relievers and throat drops. Before measles vaccine was available, more than 400,000 measles cases were reported each year in the United States. However, since almost all children got the measles, the real number of cases probably was almost 4 million per year. Since 1963, when both an inactivated and a live attenuated vaccine were licensed for use in the United States, the type of measles vaccine and the recommended age for measles vaccination have changed several times. After 1967 and 1975, the inactivated and the Edmonston B vaccine, respectively, were no longer distributed. A live, further attenuated vaccine (Schwarz strain) was first introduced in 1965, and a similar vaccine was licensed in 1968.

These other vaccines cause less reactions than the Edmonston B vaccine, but are as, if not more effective. The Mora ten vaccine is the vaccine used right now in the United States. In recent years, two major types of outbreaks have happened in the United States: most are among unvaccinated young children, including those younger than the recommended age for vaccination, less than fifteen months, and those among vaccinated school-aged children. In addition, in 1989, a substantial number of cases broke out among students and people on college campuses. Big outbreaks happened among unvaccinated young children in inner-city areas. In these outbreaks, of the cases that happened among children 16 months-4 years of age, almost 88% of the children were unvaccinated.

As many as 40% of cases happened among children less than 16 months old... In some of these places, surveys indicate that 49%-65% of 2-year-olds had measles vaccine. Among school-aged children, outbreaks have happened in schools with almost all of its students vaccinated. These outbreaks have occurred in all parts of the country, including areas that had not reported measles for years.

So, in conclusion, you can see why the measles, or rubeola, is a serious diesise and requires vaccines. If left un-vaccinated you are at risk for this harmful and some times deadly diesise. This used to b a common illness, and it was deadly. Now we can prevent it, and we should at all costs.