“I feel that parents don’t vaccinate due to the misinformation about the MMR [vaccine] causing autism,” recently retired nurse of pediatrics and family medicine, Cynthia Strudgeon said. “There are parents that don’t want to risk seeing their child become affected by autism.”

Measles: the epidemic in the U.S. has reached Michigan.

As of April 17, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed 43 total measles cases in Michigan.

Although the cause is still unknown, measles continues to spread like wildfire. There was an exposure site at a gas station in south Lansing, which is the closest to Stockbridge.

Parents who do not get their children vaccinated leave a problem for those who do. Children who do get vaccinated can contract a mild case of measles from the unvaccinated children, while those who do not get vaccinated get the measles full blown. The worst condition can get severe and even deadly.

Although, Strudgeon “worked in a pediatric practice for 15 years and rarely saw any complications other than local site reactions.”

The vaccine does not just help with measles, but also mumps and rubella, according to the Ingham County Health Department (ICHD) website said. The vaccine may not take away the risk from having the measles completely but it lets people have a mild case of it rather than the severity of dying.

The first thing people should do when they think they have the measles is to go to the doctor for confirmation. Then, rest, drink fluids, and take an ibuprofen to ease comfort according to ICHD.

The best way to prevent the measles is by getting the shot. “Fifteen states in the U.S. have confirmed a measles outbreak,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced. Even though that does not sound like a lot, it is a significantly high number to produce outbreaks.

Some symptoms of the measles are blotchy skin, fever, cough, runny nose, red and watery eyes, feeling achy, and tiny white spots with bluish-white centers found inside the mouth.

Students have mixed opinions as to whether vaccines are harmful for consumption.

“Vaccines are the scourge of humanity,” senior Ethan Jones said. “I would never put that into my body. I have never put anything into my body and I never will.”

While the measles is no longer prevalent in the U.S., “it is one of the leading contributors to child mortality around the globe,” according to World Health Organization. The CDC notes that the disease is common in other areas around the world, including countries in Europe, Asia, the Pacific and Africa.

There have been about eight exposure sites in Michigan as of April 17, all either in Grand Rapids, Oak Park and Lansing, according to The Lansing State Journal.