Measles: Background and Federal Role in Vaccine Policy.

摘要

Despite measles having been declared eliminated in the United States 15 years ago, there have continued to be occasional outbreaks of the virus that have raised questions about the virus itself, the medications available to prevent its transmission, and the federal government’s role in ensuring that vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles, do not reestablish themselves in the United States. This report presents basic information about this infectious disease, its history in the United States, available treatments to prevent individuals from contracting measles, and the federal role in combatting measles—from funding, to research, to the authority of the federal government in requiring mandatory childhood vaccinations.