How Do You Know Youve Been Vaccinated for Measles

Julio Valenzuela, 11, smiles as he'southward vaccinated confronting measles, mumps and rubella at a gratuitous clinic in Lynwood, Calif., terminal August. Robyn Brook/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Julio Valenzuela, 11, smiles equally he's vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella at a complimentary clinic in Lynwood, Calif., last Baronial.

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More than two months ago, a nasty mumps virus triggered fever, headache and painfully bloated glands among a handful of students at Ohio State University. Now the outbreak has ballooned to 234 cases at last count, and has spilled into the surrounding community in Columbus, Ohio.

"Columbus officials are calling it the city'southward biggest outbreak since the development of the mumps vaccine in the 1940s," WOSU reporter Steve Brown tells Shots. "It even pushed them to open a new clinic."

And so far, most of those infected are students or workers at Ohio Land, Brownish says. And here's what's surprising: Many of those who got sick had previously been immunized confronting mumps via one of the top weapons against childhood diseases: the MMR vaccine. That's a two-dose shot most of us got when we were kids to protect against iii diseases — measles, mumps and rubella.

Interestingly, a immature adult female in New York caught the measles in 2011 fifty-fifty though she, too, had been vaccinated, scientists reported terminal week. "Measles Mary," as Science mag called her, also spread the virus to four others.

What's going on here? Is one of our best shields against infectious illness faltering?

To answer those questions, nosotros talked with a vaccine specialist, Dr. William Schaffner at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. The chat has been edited for length and clarity.

Potent but non perfect: Medical banana Elissa Ortivez prepares a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine at a clinic in Walsenburg, Colo. John Moore/Getty Images hide explanation

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Potent but not perfect: Medical banana Elissa Ortivez prepares a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine at a dispensary in Walsenburg, Colo.

John Moore/Getty Images

Why tin you however get the mumps and measles even if you're vaccinated?

Measles is a terrific vaccine. If you get two doses, it's predicted to protect 99.99 percent of people for life.

That case in New York was then unusual that it'southward come to everyone's attention. On rare occasions, the virus trumps an individual'due south protection.

The mumps vaccine, on the other mitt, is not then skillful. The protection rate varies from report to report. But it's usually in the mid-80s.

Both vaccines, for mumps and measles, are tamed versions of the viruses. The viruses aren't killed but what nosotros call attenuated, live viruses.

If you don't attenuate the mumps virus enough, yous become improve protection but more complications with the vaccine.

So we're walking a fine line. To avert complications, the mumps vaccine doesn't protect as well as the measles.

Nosotros wish nosotros had a better mumps vaccine.

And so the outbreak at Ohio State Academy is due to "vaccine failure," non declining immunization rates in the U.S.?

Yes. In the U.S., we take done a stupendous chore of comprehensively vaccinating children. We have the best vaccination record in the world — I'm proud to stay, sitting up with a big smile on my face.

But every developed country hasn't gotten with the program. So nosotros take mumps cases imported into the U.S. from Europe and the U.K.

Well, how-do-you-do — if the British vaccinated everyone, there would be less importation and fewer outbreaks in the U.Due south.

With the state of affairs in Ohio, what we'll probably find is that the vaccine protected about 85 percentage of the people. So y'all tin can see that some people who were vaccinated can learn the illness — if they're exposed.

With measles and rubella, protection rates of the vaccine are upwardly in the mid- 90s. What drives these outbreaks in the U.S. are children that accept been withheld from vaccines. So information technology's failure to vaccinate, not vaccine failure — every bit with mumps.

Are you saying that vaccines don't piece of work likewise when big groups of people aren't immunized?

Right. Vaccines have two functions: Protect the person vaccinated and provide protection to the entire community.

If you want to eliminate the infection entirely from a community, a very high proportion of people have to be immunized.

If children are left unvaccinated, measles will notice them and make them sick. Information technology's one of the nigh contagious diseases we take.

Mumps is not quite every bit communicable. But with only about 85 percent of a population protected past the vaccine, outbreaks tin can smolder along and infect just enough people to go on going.

To protect yourself, the No. i priority is to make certain everyone is vaccinated. If you know of someone who has the mumps, avoid them.

Should adults get a booster of the MMR to protect against mumps outbreaks?

We recommend everyone gets two doses of the MMR vaccine.

Then, if at that place is a mumps outbreak in your community, like in Ohio, health workers will effigy out which population is at hazard and give them a third dose.

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Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/04/18/304155213/why-mumps-and-measles-can-spread-even-when-were-vaccinated

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