The addition of 1 ppm of thaumatin considerably reduces this bitterness. Complaints of bitterness or a chemical or metallic taste are also reported with potassium chloride used in food. Industrial
As a chemical feedstock, it is used for the manufacture of potassium hydroxide and potassium metal. It is also used in medicine, lethal injections, scientific applications, food processing, soaps, and as a sodium-free substitute for table salt for people concerned about the health effects of sodium. It is used as a supplement in animal feed to boost the potassium level in the feed. As an added benefit, it is known to increase milk production. It is sometimes used in solution as a completion fluid in petroleum and natural gas operations, as well as being an alternative to sodium chloride in household water softener units. Glass manufacturers use granular potash as a flux, lowering the temperature at which a mixture melts. Because potash imparts excellent clarity to glass, it is commonly used in eyeglasses, glassware, televisions, and computer monitors. KCl is useful as a beta radiation source for calibration of radiation monitoring equipment, because natural potassium contains 0.0118% of the isotope 40K. One kilogram of KCl yields 16350 becquerels of radiation, consisting of 89.28% beta and 10.72% gamma, with 1.46083 MeV. In order to use off-the-shelf materials, it needs to be crystallized sequentially, using controlled temperature, in order to extract KCl, which is the subject of ongoing research.
In preliminary figures for 2018, reported cases in the region increased 3-fold to 82,596 in 47 countries, with 72 deaths; Ukraine had the most cases (53,218), with the highest incidence rates being in Ukraine (1209 cases per million), Serbia (579), Georgia (564) and Albania (500). The previous year (2017) saw an estimated measles vaccine coverage of 95% for the first dose and 90% for the second dose in the region, the latter figure being the highest-ever estimated second-dose coverage.In 2019, the United Kingdom, Albania, the Czech Republic, and Greece lost their measles-free status due to ongoing and prolonged spread of the disease in these countries. In the first 6 months of 2019, 90,000 cases occurred in Europe. Americas
As a result of widespread vaccination, the disease was declared eliminated from the Americas in 2016. However, there were cases again in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 in this region. United States
In the United States, measles affected approximately 3,000 people per million in the 1960s before the vaccine was available. With consistent widespread childhood vaccination, this figure fell to 13 cases per million by the 1980s, and to about 1 case per million by 2000.In 1991, an outbreak of measles in Philadelphia was centered at the Faith Tabernacle Congregation, a faith healing church that actively discouraged parishioners from vaccinating their children. Over 1400 people were infected with measles and nine children died.Before immunization in the United States, between three and four million cases occurred each year.