Measles – More Deadly Than Ebola According to Patrick Guilfoile

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which started in 2014, has claimed more than 10,000 lives so far. The Ebola virus causes a frightening illness with symptoms including fever, vomiting, and bleeding. In this most recent epidemic, nearly half the people known to be infected with the virus have died. Although the epidemic shows signs of waning, there is great concern about additional health problems in West Africa.

Once Ebola hit, many health care workers became infected and died, making an already bad situation worse. The result, many fear, is that other diseases that were previously under control will become widespread. The disease of greatest concern is measles which is up to 10 times more infectious than Ebola. An unvaccinated person, if exposed to someone who has measles, has a 90 percent chance of getting infected. If a person with measles sneezes in a room and leaves, susceptible individuals could still be infected if they entered that room several hours later.

Although many see measles as a disease of the past, it still kills an estimated 100,000 people each year, worldwide. Continue Reading at: The Bemidji Pioneer