Here we go again. Folks are talking about another outbreak of measles. Apparently driven by the unvaccinated. This once ubiquitous viral illness has been relegated to history, or so we were told when I was in training many years ago. I must admit, I don’t think I have ever seen an actual case of measles, even as a child. So other than vilifying the unvaccinated why does the Medical Industrial Complex make such big deal out this illness?
There are 6 classically numbered childhood illness, First through Sixth Disease. All have their causative agents which have been isolated and reasonably well characterized and other than Fifth Disease this nomenclature has been abandoned. In this scheme, measles (rubeola) was First Disease. It has been described for millennia. Normally it is a seasonal infection with late winter or spring outbreaks and historically, epidemics every 2-3 years. It is droplet spread and not airborne, so unlike some other viral illnesses recently in the news, masks may actually help to reduce the spread. Early symptoms include high fever, profuse runny nose and congestion, sneezing, conjunctivitis and cough. It is highly contagious. There is a short incubation period after exposure before these symptoms start. The rash starts 2-4 days after the symptoms start. Full recovery should be about 10-14 days after the rash appears.
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