Colorado Health News Current Health Stories from Around Colorado and the World Colorado State Health Department Alerts People to Heightened Measles Risk With the summer vacation season approaching and a large number of people expected to travel to Europe for the 2012 Olympics in London, travelers may be exposed to measles in countries where transmission is ongoing. While the London Olympics is of special concern because of recent European measles outbreaks, measles can be acquired through travel to many countries. Measles is an ongoing risk to those who choose not be vaccinated, and a risk to infants and children who have not yet received vaccine. More… World Immunization Week The World Health Organization has designated this week as World Immunization Week. In conjunction with it, the United Nations Foundation has just launched a specials appeal to American parents called “Shot at Life.” The campaign’s intent is to help trigger advocacy and raise funds that would go toward providing greater access to vaccines against polio, measles, diarrhea and pneumonia in developing countries. More… Infant Immunization Week “The recent whooping cough outbreak in Boulder, and other similar outbreaks across the country, underscore the need for parents to get their children vaccinated according to the schedule created by the CDC,” said Dr. Rachel Herlihy, director of the Immunization Section at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. More… Boulder Has Whooping Cough Outbreak When infants and young children haven’t had the three doses of pertussis vaccine, the disease can cause seizures, long-term neurological problems and even death, health officials said. Whooping cough can also strike vaccinated people, including older children and adults, because the protection they got from childhood immunizations decreases over time. More… Colorado Needs a Shot of Education About Vaccines Ironically, vaccines are a victim of their own success. In this day and age in the United States, we rarely see the diseases that vaccines prevent, which may actually be part of the problem – the general public hasn’t seen horrific diseases (such as polio and smallpox) in quite some time because vaccines work. More…
