Mother shares heartbreaking photos of baby son with measles, urges people to get vaccinated
A California mother has posted photos online of her 5-month-old son with a red rash.
A California mother whose 5-month-old son contracted the measles virus posted heartbreaking photos of her infant suffering from a head-to-toe rash in an effort to urge others to get their children vaccinated.
Sara Blum said that her son Walter developed a high fever before the rash appeared and that she and her husband rushed him to urgent care where they ran bloodwork on him.
“After almost a week, we have received confirmation that he tested positive for measles,” Blum posted to followers on March 29.
“Luckily he had minimal contact with the outside world and is almost through it. We are working with the Butte County Public Health with reporting it to make sure we are completely transparent with possible exposures. Our boy is doing well and his rash and fever have subsided.”
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Blum said earlier in the post that Walter had been kept out of daycare due to three visits to the emergency room and a weeklong hospital stay after being diagnosed with RSV and a compromised immune system. Measles is a highly contagious virus that can be serious for young children.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends children get two doses of the MMR vaccination, but the first dose is typically given between 12 and 15 months of age, with the second occurring between ages 4 and 6.
Blum said her son’s traumatic illness could have been avoided if more people trusted physicians. As of April 26, the CDC recorded 704 cases of measles across 22 states, marking the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1994 and since measles was declared eliminated in 2000. The majority of cases are being reported in unvaccinated children.
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“This would have been 100% preventable if people would just trust doctors and science, and vaccinate their children rather than going off of their own opinions and doing their research through facebook,” Blum wrote. “Because of them, my little boy had to get measles and suffer. Luckily there were no major complications and he is doing okay, but it could have easily been a different turnout. He is only 5 months old and didn’t even have a chance to get vaccinated.”
Blum said her son has been sick for 1/5 of his life and “thinks this is part of life.”
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Dr. Nancy Messonier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases echoed Blum and said the biggest challenge health officials are facing in containing the measles outbreaks is “misinformation and myths about the vaccine.”
“It’s important that parents realize that the vaccine is safe and effective,” Messonier told Fox News.
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