

Measles incidence rate per 100,000 people - sillysaurus3
http://i.imgur.com/ZxL0gBB.png

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ggchappell
Interesting chart.

Lots of things to wonder about. For example, it looks like incidence of
measles was waning in the decade before the introduction of the vaccine.
Exceptions include Kentucky, Tennessee, Hawaii, and Alaska, all of which -- I
imagine -- hit some population/transportation threshold that allowed diseases
to spread more easily. But the rest generally have incidences that are
decreasing, and certainly lower than they were around 1940. Why?

Also, there are virtually no measles cases in 1945. We get light pink in Utah,
Washington, California, and Idaho -- and nowhere else that I can see. Of
course, any disease is going to have its off years. But 1945 witnessed the end
of WWII, and I would think the resulting movements of large numbers of people
would have increased both person-to-person contact and mobility, making it
prime time for an epidemic. Apparently not. Why not?

