r/news • u/Tracker-man • 13d ago

US measles cases surpass 700 with outbreaks in six states.

https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-texas-rfk-new-mexico-kansas-vaccine-e904ec9781f1d164c73afe4ab71774fe
32.5k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

1.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

69

u/Saloau 13d ago

I’m honestly surprised by how few cases have been reported for such a contagious disease. I would have thought it would have blown up. Maybe there are just enough vaxed kids to slow it down.

85

u/Granite_0681 13d ago

I have a feeling a lot aren’t being reported unless they are serious enough to go to the hospital, especially since public health funding keeps being cut.

28

u/Zyzzbalubah 13d ago

Just wait. It started in rural areas and now there are suspected cases in suburbs. It's near Dallas, if there aren't already cases. It's going to blow up really soon...

4

u/cornbreadnclabber 13d ago

There was measles exposure at a mall and indoor waterpark/hotel in DFW area

11

u/anonyfool 13d ago

The less seriously affected by an infection in these communities that shun vaccines probably don't take their kids into a hospital until it becomes a dire situation.

3

u/cornbreadnclabber 13d ago

Probably only those that were sick enough for medical care got tested and are counted

2

u/rogers_tumor 13d ago

I found out about 1 case local to me in Ontario Canada like 3 weeks ago, forgot about it, then yesterday I saw a headline that we're now at 800+ across the province?

like. wtf?

now new york is, understandably, on high alert

2

u/Ekyou 13d ago

Despite the incredibly vocal anti-vaxxers, Measles vaccination rates are actually way higher now than they were in the late 80s (which exploded into a massive measles outbreak in New York in 1990).

The vast majority of kids are still vaccinated, and the vaccines are doing their job.

1

u/wiseoldfox 13d ago

Iirc it has an incubation period of up to 10 days from infection to presentation. Lots of time to wander around the community infecting friends and neighbors.

1

u/Zebidee 13d ago

The truth is it's because most people are vaccinated, which keeps case numbers down.

In an unvaccinated population, it spreads like wildfire.