|Previous issues index|| Issue Number 45 January 12, 1999
UNPROTECTED PEOPLE: Stories of people who have suffered or died
from vaccine-preventable diseases Although the information in an
article entitled, "An Outbreak of Measles Associated with an
Unvaccinated Population," is two years old, it highlights the
timeless fact that members of unvaccinated communities, such as
the religious community in which this outbreak occurred,
continue to be victims of vaccine-preventable diseases. This
Minnesota story on a measles outbreak appeared in the
February/March 1996 issue of the Minnesota Department of
Health's "Disease Control Newsletter." Shortly after the
outbreak, most of the unvaccinated children and young adults in
this religious community consequently chose to receive two doses
of MMR vaccine. The "Outbreak Summary" of the article is
reprinted here in its entirety: "In early 1996, two measles
cases were reported to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).
After a major resurgence of measles both nationally a