At least nineteen cases of measles have been reported where unvaccinated patients have contracted the disease at Disneyland last month. That is the conclusion of California health officials in which, according to CBS News, Orange County, California (where Disney is located) reported the highest number of measles cases last year including the highest number of unvaccinated kids. What is also of concern is that thousands more may have been exposed to the virus.

Hopefully this case and the fact that Orange County’s immunization rate is so low will be a wakeup call for parents everywhere who haven’t vaccinated their children. Yet another feather in the cap of the anti-vaccine movement. I realize also there is a certain amount of guard let down because diseases like measles, small pox or even polio were supposed to be eradicated. But the anti-vaccine movement are helping to revive diseases once thought to have been eradicated.

Even vaccinated children and adults are at risk since a virus can travel from human to human where it can eventually mutate into a stronger and even deadlier strain that can overcome a person’s vaccination. Herd immunity dramatically reduces this risk. Vaccines do carry a small amount of risk of allergic reaction, seizures or even contracting the very disease people are said to be immunized from, but the possibility of any reaction or disease infection is extremely small.

Researchers at Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center in California concluded a twelve year study of two measles-carrying vaccines that resulted in their being classified as safe and effective. According to HealthDay:

The research included children between the ages of 12 to 23 months. Some youngsters received the combination measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccine. Others were given separately administered measles-mumps-rubella and varicella (MMR + V) vaccines, but they received both vaccines on the same day.

The study, published online Jan. 5 in Pediatrics, also confirmed previous findings that the two vaccines are associated with fever and fever-related (febrile) seizures in 1-year-old children. These types of seizures usually happen seven to 10 days after vaccination. The study also found that the MMRV is more likely to cause febrile seizures than MMR + V.

The researchers emphasized that the risk of febrile seizures is small. They occur in less than one of every 1,000 vaccine injections, the study authors said.