KUSA - It's not a disease you hear much about these days but the US is on track to have the most measles cases in the last decade.
Most of the new cases seen here in the United States are linked to other countries and especially Europe. Some of the cases are from adults coming to the U.S. to either work or visit. Other outbreaks are in children who live in the States but recently returned to a visit to a foreign country where they became infected with this disease. International health experts are blaming this increase in a failure to vaccinate children, especially in European countries.
In a typical year, the US only sees around 50 cases of measles. Through the first five months of this year, we've seen 89. That puts the United States on track to have more cases than any other time in the last 10 years, including the current high year, 2008, when 140 cases were reported nationwide.
Although this might not seem like many cases, the concern is that measles is a very contagious disease. Prior to the introduction of the MMR vaccine, thousands contracted measles and about 500 died because of it every year.
Measles is very easy to catch and is usually spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes and you come into contact with the droplets they've released into the air.
Symptoms start eight to 14 days after getting infected and usually mean suffering though a cough, sore throat, body aches and fever. The telltale sign of measles, the rash, starts three to five days later and can last up to two weeks.
Although most who suffer from it don't have serious problems, in some cases it can cause pneumonia or even encephalitis, a swelling of the brain. Unfortunately, for every 1,000 kids that get sick with the measles, up to two kids will die because of it.
There is no specific treatment for this disease, only treatments that can help make someone more comfortable while their body fights it off. The best way to prevent the measles is from the MMR vaccine.
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