A measles outbreak linked to the world’s most-famous amusement park is spreading, and has grown to 22 patients.  Health officials in Southern California say all of the initial patients were unvaccinated and had visited Disneyland in Anaheim between 15 – 20 December.

Measles is a highly infectious airborne disease, and can lead to pneumonia, encephalitis, and sometimes death in children.  But recent years have seen a wave of anti-vaccination hysteria in the US, based on false and discredited claims of links between vaccines and autism.  Some incredibly stupid celebrities got on the bandwagon hyping that nonsense.  As a result, many parents opted out of having their kids vaccinated.

But it’s not just those children who are being put at risk.  Just like in Australia, American doctors recommend the measles vaccine be administered to kids at 12 months, with the second dose given at 18 months of age.  That means all of those babies of responsible parents are also put in danger of exposure.

Of the seven initial measles patients of the Disneyland Outbreak, only two of them were too young for the first dose. 

It’s part of a trend that is dramatically raising measles rates in a nation whose culture is constantly patting itself on the back for being the best at everything.  The US Centers for Disease Control said last year, “90 percent of all measles cases in the United States were in people who were not vaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown.  Among the US residents who were not vaccinated, 85 percent were religious, philosophical, or personal reasons.”

California health authorities are now warning people to get checked out if they went to public places where the first batch of exposed patients went after Disneyland, a detailed list that includes banks, restaurants, casinos, health clubs and other spots.

Not sure why anyone would leave beautiful Australia, but just in case your holiday plans include the US – be sure to get your vaccinations.