Yousa国际传媒檝e seen the headlines, yousa国际传媒檝e read the comments and yousa国际传媒檝e watched the hysteria build.

Dr. Monika Naus, medical director of the Communicable Diseases and Immunization Services at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, explains exactly what the big deal is.

sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 no treatment for measles, so if you get measles itsa国际传媒檚 your own body that has to cure you,sa国际传媒� said Naus.

Measles is a virus, so antibiotics donsa国际传媒檛 work. According to Naus the most modern medicine can do for you is aid in the healing, but your body has to tackle the infection itself.

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sa国际传媒淚f your lungs are full of measles virus and yousa国际传媒檙e in respiratory failure you can be put on a ventilator,sa国际传媒� said Naus. sa国际传媒淚f you have a brain infection with measles sa国际传媒� they can give you steroids to reduce swelling sa国际传媒� but essentially itsa国际传媒檚 up to you to cure yourself.sa国际传媒�

Measles is a highly infectious virus spread through airborne transmission making it that much easier to contract.

sa国际传媒淵ou donsa国际传媒檛 need direct contact. You donsa国际传媒檛 need to be sharing spit, kissing, sharing sa国际传媒� itsa国际传媒檚 airborne, so itsa国际传媒檚 that much more infectious.sa国际传媒�

Because measles can spread so easily in susceptible populations it can cause exceedingly high numbers of cases.

sa国际传媒淲hen you have high numbers of cases, you also wind up with a high number of cases with complications,sa国际传媒� said Naus.

Measles can infect any part of the body and serious infection occurs when the virus spreads to a personsa国际传媒檚 lungs or brain.

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According to Naus there is debate around how fatal measles is, but itsa国际传媒檚 estimated from North American data about one in 300 cases result in death.

In 1996 Canada adopted the measles elimination goal as part of the Pan American Health Organization because it was recognized increasingly that measles elimination was achievable.

sa国际传媒淲e do get imported cases, sometimes a visitor or a Canadian returning from overseas and most of the time theresa国际传媒檚 no onward transmission if people around them are vaccinated,sa国际传媒� said Naus. sa国际传媒淚f they go into a group of people with susceptible individuals thatsa国际传媒檚 when we see transmission.sa国际传媒�

According to Naus measles is still a big problem worldwide, particularly where children are malnourished coupled with little available treatment the virus is still killing hundreds of thousands of children worldwide.

Naus said while it is achievable to eliminate measles, it requires a demand from the public to be vaccinated and prevent the disease from spreading.

sa国际传媒淭here are people who believe that general health, eating nutritious foods and exercising is sufficient,sa国际传媒� said Naus. sa国际传媒淵es sa国际传媒� all those things help your immune system but they donsa国际传媒檛 provide you with specific immunity.sa国际传媒�

The recent outbreak has been limited to a small group of schools in Vancouver and according to Naus there havensa国际传媒檛 been anymore reported cases since Valentines Day.

sa国际传媒淭he incubation period for measles is up to 21 days so we wonsa国际传媒檛 know whether there will be any additional cases until about the 7th of March,sa国际传媒� said Naus.

For more information on how you can get vaccinate to protect against to measles virus visit immunizebc.ca/finder