This week, Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Stephen Thacker about protecting infants and children from measles. Dr. Thacker is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and a pediatric infectious disease specialist at MUSC Children’s Health.
TRANSCRIPT:
Conner: I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio with Health Focus here at the radio Studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina, continues to experience a measles outbreak, with a significant increase in measles cases reported recently by the South Carolina Department of Public Health. Doctor Stephen Thacker is here to talk about measles and how to best protect infants and children from measles. Doctor Thacker is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and a pediatric infectious disease specialist at MUSC Children’s Health. Doctor Thacker, tell us about measles.
Dr. Thacker: Measles is one of the most contagious infections we know. It spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes, and the virus can linger in a room for hours, which makes it really easy for us to spread. And when people think of measles as just a rash, it's actually more than that. It can cause high fever, it can cause pneumonia, brain swelling, and sometimes lead to hospitalization, and in rare cases, death.
Conner: And who is at increased risk of complications from measles?
Dr. Thacker: The group with the highest risk of complications are those of the youngest age. So, infants and young children, especially those under the age of five, and these children that are not vaccinated, as well as pregnant individuals, and people with weakened immune systems also have high rates of complications.
Conner: Tell us about the South Carolina measles outbreak.
Dr. Thacker: South Carolina has seen measles cases that were tied back originally to travel and spread within communities where vaccination rates are lower. And, most of the cases involve those who have been unvaccinated or are under-vaccinated. And these outbreaks are really just a reminder that measles hasn't gone away, and that vaccination is still a critically important tool to protect our communities.
Conner: What can parents do to help protect their children from actually getting measles?
Dr. Thacker: The most important step there is really to make sure that children receive the MMR vaccine, which is safe and effective at preventing this disease. They get one dose around one year of age, and another dose between 4 to 6 years of life. And, it provides excellent protection.
Conner: What can parents of infants do to protect their infants from measles in the first 12 months before they're really eligible to get the MMR vaccine?
Dr. Thacker: This is where I think about a strategy we call cocooning. This idea of how do we protect an at risk baby, and we do that through making sure that those that are around that child most, so the baby's parents, their siblings, their caregivers, are fully vaccinated against vaccine preventable diseases, including measles. In addition to that, we advise families with young children to avoid large crowds. And in areas where there are known concerns for respiratory viral outbreaks such as this, and in special situations like international travel or planned travel to an area of a known outbreak, some infants as young as six months can receive an early measles, mumps and rubella dose. It's important for families to know that that early dose provides only short term protection, and their child will still need to receive the routine doses at 1 in 5 years of life.
Conner: Doctor Thacker, what else would you like parents to know related to measles in children?
Dr. Thacker: You know, I think as an important message to be reminded that measles is a preventable infection and it really takes a community effort. You know, the vaccination itself protects your child. It protects vulnerable infants who can't receive the vaccine and helps stop outbreaks before they ever start. And if parents have questions, I really encourage them to talk with their pediatrician or family medicine provider, because we're really all here to help families make informed, safe decisions.
Conner: Doctor Thacker, thanks for talking with us about measles.
Dr. Thacker: Thank you.
Conner: From the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio.
Health Focus transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of Health Focus programming.
