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Seattle Children’s hospital is warning families that the number of measles cases is on the rise.
Paula and Oscar Abalahin of Port Orchard lost their son Jaxon to a progressive neurological disorder – called Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis – stemming from the measles when he was just 8 years old.
“Within six months, he wasn’t Jaxon anymore, and Jaxon didn’t know he was Jaxon. He couldn’t talk, he lost all his motor skills and it took four months to get a diagnosis,” Oscar explained.
“He was always joyful. Even through his sickness, he was always happy and smiling,” Paula added.
More than a decade later through their non-profit called Jaxon’s Cure, they have raised awareness about the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, called MMR. They say the virus spread to Jaxon as a baby before he was even old enough to get the shot.
“We want to make sure they’re aware and make an informed decision and talk to their pediatrician on the importance of it,” Oscar added.
The highly contagious virus is back in the spotlight as the CDC reports 113 total cases in the U.S. so far this year, with a drastic jump in cases in mid-March. As many as nine of the total cases were in Washington state, according to the data.
“The thinking here is that a lot of doses of the measles vaccine were missed or delayed during the pandemic and now this is the consequence of that,” Seattle Children’s Hospital Medical Director of Infection Prevention Dr. Danielle Zerr stated. “Then, you can imagine in school settings or settings where there are a lot of kids who aren’t vaccinated, it’s just an opportunity for the virus to spread very rapidly and effect a lot of people.”
The first measles vaccine dose is typically administered to children between 12-15 months old, and the second to children between 4 and 6 years old. The CDC reports an estimated 91.4% of children in Washington state were vaccinated for the 2022-2023 school year. The state with the lowest vaccination rate for the same time frame was Hawaii at 83.6%.
Symptoms range from a cough, eye redness, fever, runny nose and a rash for a few days, to brain swelling or death in rare circumstances.
Health officials said people infected with the virus are contagious from four days before and after a patient exhibits symptoms. The virus is transmitted through air particles when an infected person talks, coughs or sneezes, or when a person touches a contaminated surface.
In a blog post, Seattle Children’s noted that most measles cases so far this year impacted unvaccinated children ages one and older, and cases are typically connected to international travel.
Hospital officials advise families to get the vaccine, which the CDC reports has a 97% success rate for preventing infection.
The shots are required for Washington schools, but there are some religious and medical exemptions outlined by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The Abalahins say they’ll continue working to fundraise for measles research to find a cure.
“We still want to keep his legacy going,” Carlos stated.