Lecturing about measles?
From the Editor
Dr. Schwarzenberger is the former physician editor of DermWorld.
By Kathryn Schwarzenberger, MD, January 1, 2020
Why would a dermatologist lecture about measles? Several years ago, I put together a grand rounds talk titled, “Measles: will you know it when you see it?” Like most of the talks I give, I created this one to remedy a perceived knowledge gap; in this case, the gap in knowledge was mine. The growing number of measles cases in the U.S. caught my attention (who will forget the infamous Disneyland outbreak in 2015, which ultimately resulted in close to 150 cases), and I realized that, having trained in a era when endemic measles was on the wane, I had actually never seen a person with measles and could easily miss the diagnosis. I also confess to being a dermatologist who, while comfortable caring for the sickest of adults, breaks out in a cold sweat when confronted with a febrile child with a rash. So, I went back to the books and reviewed everything I could find about the disease, and from this my talk evolved. Putting the words together was easy; finding images of measles was quite another, as few of us have a robust collection of images of a disease we hope to never see.
I learned a lot about measles as I created this talk, and, in the process, became quite fascinated by the phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy. Declining vaccine rates are one of the contributing factors to the re-emergence of infectious diseases in the U.S. and around the world. This month, Dermatology World Assistant Editor Emily Margosian explores some of the cultural factors linked to the emergence or re-emergence of infectious diseases, including measles and mumps. If measles isn’t already on your radar, it should be. Prior to recent years, the annual incidence of measles (from CDC data) in the U.S. since 2001 was usually less than 200 cases per year. The incidence spiked to 667 cases in 2014 and by November of 2019, over 1,260 cases were reported. It’s hard to imagine this is not a disease we will all see at some point if these trends continue.
Speaking of vaccinations, are you up to date on yours? And are you getting your recommended 30 minutes of exercise five times a week?
Physicians are notorious for taking care of everyone but themselves. Of this, I too have been guilty…so, this month we offer some hopefully inspirational thoughts about physician fitness. Honestly, we didn’t time this to correspond with your New Year’s resolutions (whether you actually made any!), but if it fits, we are happy to share stories about some of our colleagues who do some pretty amazing things physical. We have runners, weightlifters, cross-trainers, and hikers among us. Some of us sweat at the gym; others bring our exercise home in the form of Peloton bikes. I think you will enjoy hearing their stories and maybe it will help you get off the couch and share their enthusiasm for sweat. The benefits are undeniable, even if difficult at times to reap. It probably doesn’t matter what the exercise looks like as long as you do it. My own personal resolution for the new year is to just do more of it. Anyone care to join me?
