… measles?

Thanks to Doug McDowall for the idea.

And, in true Doug McDowall style, let me do a bait and switch.

When I was in elementary school, I had a pet mouse. His name was Measles. He was white furred but what made him stand out at the pet store was his red spots and red eyes. My brother had a couple of grey mice wtih a nice cage and so Measles came home to a home and a new group of friends.

But, that’s probably not what Doug wanted to talk about.

Measles has been big in the news recently.

According to Public Health Ontario,

In Ontario, measles has been rare, owing to the successful elimination of measles in Canada due to high immunization coverage. As a result, measles cases are usually associated with travel (often referred to as “measles importations”). Due to an increase in measles activity globally, Ontario has begun to see more cases of measles.

York Region Public Health investigating adult case of measles with ‘unknown’ infection source

Measles spreading in Ontario, Quebec with cases of unknown origin

Brant County Health Unit Confirms Measles Case in Brantford-Brant Resident

So, what’s up?

It’s a disease that goes back to my youth where it was a thing to be scared of but I thought that it had been eradicated. It turns out I was wrong again.

I remember as an elementary school student that there were two types of measles that you had to be aware of – Red Measles and German Measles. It was the Red ones that you had to be especially afraid of. I do remember a friend who contracted German Measles and earned himself some time off school.

In theory, before kids can go to school in Ontario, they have to be vaccinated for a number of different diseases, including measles. The complete list is available to look at here. And, of course, for every rule, there are exceptions.

Here are the symptoms – I don’t know why anyone would want to apply for an exemption and take the risk of their child getting this.

1. Measles typically begins with fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes.

2. Several days later, a red, blotchy rash appears, starting on the face and spreading to the rest of the body.

3. Measles can also cause complications like ear infections, pneumonia, and encephalitis.

I think that it’s kind of scarey to think that it’s back. According to reports, it’s very contagious.

For a Sunday morning, sterilize your keyboard and share your thoughts and not any illness that you might have.

• have you ever had measles or do you know someone who has?
• why are the reports talking about just measles? Whatever happened to Red Measles and German Measles?
• what’s the difference between Rubeola and Rubella?
• are you vaccinated? According to the news, you should have or you should get two shots of the vaccine. Have you?
• do you have a theory as to why it’s such a big news? Is the media trying to be the first to report on the next “Covid”?
• other than measles, are there any illnesses that really scare you in that list of things that Ontario students are supposed to be vaccinated against?
• have you ever had a student in your class that had successfully been exempted from the vaccination? Did you treat them any differently from other students?
• if you vacation outside the country, are you aware of any contact with others that might end up with you getting a serious sickness?
• why don’t we hear of these diseases in the summer time? Don’t they all seem to be in the winter?
• do you know how many times I typed “measels” instead of “measles” while writing this?
• why isn’t measels capitalized in reference but Red Measles and German Measles and my pet are?

I hope that Doug’s inspiration has given you pause for some serious thinking this Sunday morning? Please share your thoughts.

This is a regular Sunday post around here. You can check out all the previous posts by clicking here.