YOU'RE WATCHING THE ONLY 7:00
P.M. LIVE LOCAL NEWSCASTS IN
HAWAII.
LOCUM BACK.
8 -- WELCOME BACK.
A TEAM OF EXPERTS ARE LOOKING TO
SAVE LIVES DURING THE MEASLES
OUTBREAK.
MORE THAN 4000 PEOPLE HAVE
GOTTEN SICK.
60 HAVE DIED, MOST OF THEM
CHILDREN.
MEASLES IS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS,
BUT PREVENTABLE WITH A VACCINE.
HERE AT HOME, THE DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH IS WARNING TRAVELERS TO
BE ALERT AS INTERNATIONAL
OUTBREAKS CONTINUE TO RISE.
WE HAVE BRUCE ANDERSON, THE
DIRECTOR OF THE HAWAII STATE
HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
THANKS FOR JOINING US.
WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT
MEASLES HERE IN THE STATE?
THANKS FOR HAVING US HERE.
MEASLES IS VERY ACTIVE IN THE
PACIFIC AREA.
THERE IS A FOCUS ON SAMOA, BUT
WE HAVE OUTBREAKS IN FIJI, TONG
A, AND NEW ZEALAND, SOME IN
JAPAN.
WHAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE
IS A LOT OF MEASLES CIRCULATING
IN THE UNITED STATES
IS A MAJOR
ISSUE AS VACCINATION RATES GO
DOWN.
WE HAVE BEEN LUCKY.
WE ONLY HAD FOUR CASES THIS
YEAR.
THREE OF THOSE WERE VISITORS
COMING HERE, AND GOT SICK WHILE
THEY WERE IN HAWAII.
FORTUNATELY, THEY DID NOT
TRANSMIT THE DISEASE TO ANYONE.
ONE WAS A RESIDENT WHO GOT SICK.
WE HAVE ONLY HAD A FEW CASES
HERE, PROBABLY BECAUSE OF OUR
HIGH VACCINATION RATES.
IS THIS SOMETHING WE NEED TO
WORRY ABOUT?
CERTAINLY.
WE NEED TO KEEP BEING
VACCINATED.
THAT IS THE ONLY EFFECTIVE WAY
TO PREVENT ILLNESS.
YOU FORGET THAT 100 YEARS AGO,
THE HAWAIIAN COMMUNITY WAS WIPED
OUT BY MEASLES AND OTHER
INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
WE DID NOT HAVE A VACCINE THEN.
WE DO NOW.
WE ARE INTERESTED AND CONCERNED
ABOUT TRAVELERS, PEOPLE GOING TO
SOME OF THESE AREAS WHERE THERE
IS ACTIVE VIRUS CIRCULATING.
AS YOU WERE MENTIONING, NOT
JUST IN SAMOA.
SPEAKING OF TRAVEL WITH THE
HOLIDAYS COMING, A LOT OF FOLKS,
ANY ADVICE FOR THE TRAVELERS?
GET VACCINATED, CHECK YOUR
RECORDS, AND MAKE SURE YOU HAVE
HAD VACCINES.
IF NOT, SEE YOUR MEDICAL
PROVIDER.
TYPICALLY, WE VACCINATE
-- THEY
WILL WANT TO BE SURE PEOPLE WHO
ARE CHILDREN BETWEEN SIX AND 11
ARE VACCINATED.
MONTHS OLD, I SHOULD SAY, ARE
VACCINATED.
FOR CHILDREN OVER 12 MONTHS, YOU
SHOULD HAVE TWO VACCINE DOSES AT
LEAST A MONTH APART TO
EFFECTIVELY PREVENT THE DISEASE.
IF YOU ARE NOT SURE, YOU CAN
GET CHECKED.
IT DOESN'T HURT TO GET
VACCINATED AGAIN.
IT HELPS TO ASSURE -- IT
HELPS
TO ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE THE
ANTIBODIES.
WHAT IS THAT HEALTH
DEPARTMENT DOING TO PREVENT A
POSSIBLE OUTBREAK HERE?
FIRST OF ALL,
ENSURING
SOMEONE IS IMMUNE IS THE ONLY
EFFECTIVE WAY.
FOR ANYONE BORN AFTER 1957, WE
RECOMMEND THE SAME SCHEDULE.
KIDS SHOULD BE VACCINATED.
MOST PHYSICIANS WILL DO THAT
AFTER 12 MONTHS.
PEOPLE LIKE ME OVER 57 ARE
PROBABLY IMMUNE BECAUSE WE WERE
EXPOSED.
I WAS BORN AND PEOPLE 57
YEARS
AGO WERE PROBABLY ALL EXPOSED,
AT LEAST A 98% OF US HAVE
NATURALLY OCCURRING IMMUNIZATION
BECAUSE WE WERE INFECTED.
BUT FOR ANYONE ELSE, IT IS
IMPORTANT YOU GET VACCINATED.
IT CAN BE A SERIOUS DISEASE.
SOME IS SUFFERING FROM AN
OUTBREAK.
60 KIDS TO DATE HAVE BEEN KILLED
BY A DISEASE THAT WAS NOT
COMMON MANY YEARS AGO.
AND CAN BE PREVENTABLE.
AND IS ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE
THROUGH BEING VACCINATED.
IT IS A TEAM EFFORT TO PREVENT
THIS DISEASE.
PHYSICIANS WILL REPORT
IT TO US.
WE FOLLOW UP ON EVERY REPORT.
WE TAKE IT VERY SERIOUSLY.
WE WILL FIND OUT WHERE THAT
INDIVIDUAL WAS, WHO THEY WERE IN
CONTACT WITH.
IF THEY WERE ON A PLANE, WE LOOK
AT THE MANIFEST OF THE PLANE,
SEE WHO WAS SITTING AROUND THE
INDIVIDUAL, AND CONTACT THOSE
INDIVIDUALS AND SEE WHETHER
THEY
HAD ANY PROBLEMS THAT WE ARE
AWARE OF AND ALERT THEM THAT
THEY WERE NEAR SOMEONE.
WE ALSO WORK WITH MANY OTHER
HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.
WE PROVIDE SERVICES TO MANY OF
THE OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDERS.
IN FACT, JUST TODAY I WAS
CALLED
BY LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR GREEN AND
WAS ASKED IF WE COULD HELP IN
GUAM.
THEY HAD A BIG STORM AND THEIR
LAB IS OUT.
WE SAID WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO
HELP.
THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO