Page 52 - HOH UPDATED

medical journal raised the autism issue as part of a small-scale study. But that article was later
discredited and retracted. And the medical license of the article’s writer was revoked by British
authorities.

While measles has remained a common disease in parts of the world, U.S. public health officials

had considered the virus eradicated in 2000. But since then, outbreaks have surfaced in some
states, culminating in a current multi-state outbreak that is alarming pediatricians and
emergency physicians nationwide.

The Best Prevention

“Vaccination is the best prevention,” said Fernando Mendoza, M.D., medical director of the
Children’s Emergency Center at Baptist Children’s Hospital and associate medical director of
Pediatric Emergency Services at West Kendall Baptist Hospital. “Absolutely, 100 percent, that’s
the best way to prevent it. Vaccinated kids don’t get the measles. There are reams and reams of

data that show these vaccines are appropriate and effective.”

Dr. Mendoza and Agueda Hernandez, M.D., a primary care physician and medical director of
the Baptist Health Primary Care Family Medicine Center at West Kendall Baptist Hospital,

spoke recently at a Baptist Health South Florida news conference to clear up common
misinformation about the measles vaccine and make sure that parents follow up with their
pediatricians or primary care physicians to get their children protected if they haven’t been
vaccinated.

“Most viruses in most kids will run their course and they will get better on their own,” explains

Dr. Mendoza. “But it’s when you get complications … that’s when about one in 20 kids with
measles will develop pneumonia, and one to three kids in 1,000 cases will die from measles.”

And while encephalitis as a complication from measles is rare, he adds, “that’s something you

definitely don’t want your child to get. Inflammation of the brain can have long-lasting effects on
functioning and on I.Q.”

“It’s important to have your children vaccinated on time according to the recommended
schedule,” says Dr. Hernandez. “It keeps them and the community safe.”

Vaccines are Safer than Ever