Recent Updates #2

In today's blog post, I will be discussing the resurgence of Measles. Measles seemed to have become a problem of the past and for many decades, outbreaks of Measles in America were unheard of. Unfortunately, this is not the case today and the sickness has the power to very negatively affect our economy and ultimately, people's lives.

Some key points in an article on CNBC titled, “Measles cases approach record as outbreak spreads in New York”, include that there have been 555 cases of Measles reported since the beginning of 2019 and according to the WHO, Measles cases are up 300 percent worldwide (LaVito). This same article presented a very informative graph to show how much Measles has increased in recent years:

Besides the obvious awful things people whom have contracted Measles deal with, there are many economic costs to a disease spreading as well. First, being the actual cost itself. In an article, “The Cost of Containing One Case of Measles: The Economic Impact on

the Public Health Infrastructure—Iowa, 2004”, it concludes that, “The direct cost to the public health infrastructure of containing 1 case of measles was far greater than the estimated cost of uncomplicated individual illness (less than $100)” (Gustavo et al). Disease outbreaks are not cheap for a society and each case comes with its own expenses.

Another obvious consequence of disease on the economy is loss of people in the economy and deaths. Measles, is indeed, a disease that can be fatal. High rates of death in an economy can lead to things such as labor and productivity loss, financial loss, and less consumers in the market.

The reasoning behind this seems to be coming from parents not vaccinating their children. There are many reasons people claim for doing so; however, the negative impacts are far worse and are dangerous and fatal to those being exposed to it.

Sources:

Dayan, Gustavo H, et al. “The Cost of Containing One Case of Measles: The Economic Impact on the Public Health Infrastructure—Iowa, 2004”. 2005. Pediatrics: American Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, DOI: 10.1542/peds.2004-2512.

LaVito, Angelica. “Measles Cases Approach Record as Outbreak Spreads in New York.” 2019. CNBC, CNBC, www.cnbc.com/2019/04/15/measles-cases-continue-to-rise-bringing-years-total-to-555.html.