Vaccine refusal tied to increased risk of measles and pertussis

Parents who delay or skip childhood vaccinations even when kids have no medical reason to avoid their shots are contributing to U.S. outbreaks of measles and pertussis, a research review suggests.

More than half of 1,416 measles cases reported in the U.S. since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000 were for people with no history of measles vaccination, the analysis found.

Nonmedical exemptions don't explain all of the resurgence in measles and pertussis in recent years, noted IHPI deputy director, Dr. Matthew Davis.

"What this latest comprehensive review illustrates is that individuals who refuse vaccines not only put themselves at risk for disease," Davis added. "It turns out that they also put others at risk too - even people who have been vaccinated before, but whose protection from those vaccinations may not be as strong as it used to be."