Imagine having the flu for several weeks. It finally appears to have gone away when the symptoms reappear; the virus is back and worse than ever. An analogous situation is currently occurring in the United States with the measles virus. This is a situation which could have been prevented if parents had chosen to act differently.
By the year 2000, the measles virus was officially eliminated from the United States. Doctors had created effective vaccination programs and a strong health system to detect and prevent the disease. Fifteen years later, an outbreak in California brought the measles back into the country. By January 26, 2015, the number  of infected persons in a recent outbreak linked to a Disney amusement park in California had increased to 78.

 
The unknown initial carrier of the disease causing the outbreak is called “patient zero.” This person was likely either a resident of a country where the measles is widespread, or a Californian who traveled out of the country and brought the disease back. The measles virus is one of the most contagious of human diseases. When airborne, it can linger for up to two hours after the infected being leaves. Luckily, prevention of the disease consists of a routine vaccination for children, so most children are made immune. But, one might ask, if there is such a strong prevention of the disease in the U.S., what is the cause of this epidemic?

The answer is that the choices some parents make for their children is creating a higher risk for the children to become infected. "This outbreak is occurring because a critical number of people are choosing not to vaccinate their children," said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Division of Infectious Diseases. Some parents simply do not fear the disease because they have never seen its harsh outcomes. Other parents are concerned that vaccinating their children could be harmful or unsafe. Surprisingly, many of the parents choosing not to vaccinate their children are not the out-of-work-begging-on-the-street kind of people. They are actually well-educated middle to upper class parents with good jobs. "They believe that they can google the word vaccine and know as much, if not more, as anyone who's giving them advice,” Offit said.

Exemptions from school immunization requirements are allowed for these parents with personal or religious beliefs to not vaccinate. This poses a threat to other children at school and also infants who are too young to be vaccinated. Parents need to realize the dangers they are putting on not only their own children, but also other people’s children by choosing not to vaccinate. They need to realize that this disease is one to be feared. According to the Los Angeles Times, health officials said that about one of every four California patients has had to be hospitalized. Serious complications from measles can lead to diseases that further lead to brain damage. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Family Physicians all recommend that children receive the MMR vaccine at age 12 to 15 months, and again at 4 to 6 years, according to the National Library of Medicine. "If a child died of measles in southern California, I think people would start vaccinating," Offit said. "I think it will take more suffering and more hospitalizations and more deaths to not see these outbreaks. We're compelled by fear, and we don't fear this disease enough." Hopefully this is not what it has to come to. Parents need to start vaccinating their children before it becomes too late.