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The United States is now experiencing what promises to be one of the worst outbreaks of measles since the virus was declared eliminated from the country in 2000.  It began in early January at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, and has since spread to 14 states and infected 84 people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Measles, caused by a paramyxovirus from the genus Morbillivirus, is one of the most contagious diseases in the world, infecting more than 90% of susceptible hosts that come in contact with an afflicted individual. In the absence of widespread vaccination, the average person with measles will infect an average of 12 to 18 other people; in contrast, Ebola is typically transmitted to 1.5 to 2.5 people.

The announcement comes about a week after the state's first case of measles of the year was confirmed. Cook County health officials would only identify the person with measles as a suburban resident who is older than 18. At the time, officials listed three places where others might have come into contact with the measles patient in mid-January - including two in Palatine.

15. That's all you need to know about the measles. OK, that's not true at all. There's no one weird trick that will give you a flat belly (besides lying face-down on something flat), and there's no one weird number that explains measles epidemiology. But the basic reproduction number, or R0, of a disease does shed some light on which diseases become epidemics and how we can keep them in check.

The chart below gives some examples of how disease levels have declined since vaccinations began. Since the introduction of the measles, or MMR vaccine, annual cases of the illness have dropped by a jaw-dropping 99%.

Author Roald Dahl penned a heartbreaking letter in 1988, urging parents to vaccinate their kids, in which he shared the story of his heartbreak over his own daughter's death from measles. According to the author's website, Olivia "Twenty" Dahl, the oldest daughter of Roald and his wife, Patricia, died in November 1962. A letter written by Dahl about her death was featured in a pamphlet from The Sandwell Health Authority in 1988.

Importance  Despite research showing no link between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), beliefs that the vaccine causes autism persist, leading to lower vaccination levels. Parents who already have a child with ASD may be especially wary of vaccinations. Objective  To report ASD occurrence by MMR vaccine status in a large sample of US children who have older siblings with and without ASD.

SciShow News explores how a diseases that was officially eliminated in the U.S. has made a sudden comeback.

This lab will let you explore various diseases: Kold, a caricature of the common cold; Impfluenza, which resembles influenza; Neasles, with the high transmission rate of measles; and Red Death, a fast-spreading epidemic with a high mortality rate. What factors come into play in the spread of these diseases? And what can we do to counter them?

A person may become immune to a specific disease in several ways. For some illnesses, such as measles and chickenpox, having the disease usually leads to lifelong immunity to it. Vaccination is another way to become immune to a disease.

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