Why measles outbreak in Pennsylvania poses risks beyond US borders
The United States is facing its largest outbreak of measles since the virus was declared eliminated in 2000.
Decades after it was officially declared eliminated in the United States, measles has made a resurgence, with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announcing the third death of the year from the virus.
Matt Ferrari, director of Pennsylvania State University’s Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, said the US was so successful at wiping out measles that it had “the luxury to forget” it was a serious problem.
“It’s been a long time, and for many of us in the United States, and in fact, throughout the Western Hemisphere, we have been able to forget how nasty measles is,” Ferrari told Al Jazeera.
“You can’t just show up in a community in an emergency– an emergency in which they might feel like you’re there to kind of blame them or shame them,” Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health, told Al Jazeera. “You need to know them so that they see public health as a resource rather than law enforcement.”