Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The recent cases of measles making national news has brought vaccines back into the forefront of discussion.
Whitman County Health Department Director Troy Henderson offers a perspective.
Showing a page from a 1938 county health department annual report with 10 years of measles rates, he pointed out totals ranging from a high of 224 cases to a low of two, with five of the 10 years well above 100 cases.
Nationwide so far in 2015, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 102 confirmed measles cases in 14 states, not including five infants in Chicago. Of the 102, 94 were related to an outbreak at Disneyland.
“We used to have about that many cases in Whitman County,” Henderson said. “So that shows the impact vaccines have. It just shows you what our grandfathers dealt with but we don’t anymore… I think folks would find this of interest.”
In an average year in Washington there are five or fewer measles cases, according to the state’s Department of Health.
The Disneyland incident in January affected one Washington resident, who contracted measles at the park. Later, her brother was confirmed to have it.
The 1938 Whitman County chart also showed rates for other diseases such as typhoid, diphtheria, scarlet fever, anterio poliomyelitis (polio).
“To anyone under 40, this list of diseases is not real,” Henderson said. “People think, why should I get my kids vaccinated. People forget how heart-wrenching it was to have a nine-year-old stricken with polio, or lose your child to measles.”
He cited the prevalence of disease in 1934, with a total of 224 county measles cases, out of a then population of 22,000.
“That’s one case per hundred people. You don’t have to trust government to trust this raw data. This is life without vaccines. Public Health’s done a lot of good,” Henderson said. “But people forget.”
Working as the county’s Public Health Director for the past two years, Henderson previously worked in public health while a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy. Enlisted from 1987-2012, he served as a Medical Service Corps Officer for 12 years, posted at several bases around the world before he retired.
The federal government recommends that all children get vaccinated for measles, getting the first dose at about one year old, and a second between ages 4 and 6. States have made vaccination a requirement to attend school, while 20 states allow for personal belief exemptions and 48 allow for religious exemptions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
In Washington, a 2011 law changed the process for parents seeking exemptions. Parents must receive information about vaccinations from a health care provider and get a signed Certificate of Exemption form for most types of exemptions.
“Parents or guardians can choose not to have their children vaccinated if their religious belief forbids it, if the child’s health prevents it, or if the parents have personal or philosophical objections to the vaccination,” said Kelly Stowe of the Communications Office, Washington Department of Health.
According to the CDC, measles is contagious to the point that 90 percent of people who aren’t immunized will be infected if exposed to the virus.
The measles vaccine was introduced in 1963.
The incidence of communicable disease in Whitman County for 10 years ending in 1938.
Typhoid: 1927 (2), 1928 (5), 1929 (4), 1930 (3), 1931 (2), 1932 (1), 1933 (3) 1934 (12), 1935 (2), 1936 (4), 1937 (0).
Scarlet Fever: 1927 (102), 1928 (49), 1929 (34), 1930 (40), 1931 (27), 1932 (20), 1933 (14) 1934 (3), 1935 (22), 1936 (58), 1937 (29).
Measles: 1927 (83), 1928 (96), 1929 (134), 1930 (63), 1931 (126), 1932 (15), 1933 (56) 1934 (224), 1935 (123), 1936 (2), 1937 (195).
Whooping Cough: 1927 (0), 1928 (3), 1929 (4), 1930 (23), 1931 (40), 1932 (2), 1933 (1) 1934 (61), 1935 (27), 1936 (10), 1937 (59).
Smallpox: 1927 (3), 1928 (68), 1929 (82), 1930 (1), 1931 (29), 1932 (0), 1933 (1) 1934 (1), 1935 (6), 1936 (11), 1937 (55).
Tuberculosis: 1927 (13), 1928 (9), 1929 (14), 1930 (6), 1931 (11), 1932 (6), 1933 (6) 1934 (4), 1935 (5), 1936 (7), 1937 (5).
Pneumonia: 1927 (18), 1928 (23), 1929 (18), 1930 (45), 1931 (13), 1932 (22), 1933 (3) 1934 (17), 1935 (24), 1936 (42), 1937 (15). (67), 1932 (27).
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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