Officials On Alert For Measles Ahead Of Super Bowl Crowds
DETROIT (WWJ) -- Arizona health officials are on high alert for measles ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl. The state is asking unvaccinated people who may have been exposed to measles to stay out of the area.
Measles is one of the most contagious viruses and will infect about 90 percent of unvaccinated people who are exposed. Adults born before 1957 are considered immune to measles, but if you were born after that, you should have been vaccinated already.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends children get vaccinated for the measles at around one-year-old, with another dose between ages four and six.
But some parents opt out of vaccinating their children out of confusion and mistrust regarding vaccines, says Beaumont Hospital immunology expert Dr. Devon Doshi.
"When you get into large areas where you're expecting to see crowds -- at the Super Bowl and Disneyland -- there's a high risk of people getting exposed," Doshi said. "If there are unvaccinated people there or people who may not have a protection in their immune system to fight this infection, this is something that can continue to spread."
The current measles outbreak which originated in the Disneyland theme park has infected at least 84 people in 14 states, including Michigan, according to the CDC.
"The safety's clearly there with vaccines, there's never been anything that's proven to shown that there is harm in receiving these vaccines," Doshi said.
