Measles: Prompt warnings

When it comes to health, prevention is often the key. In the case of measles, prevention is easy, readily available and dangerous to others to neglect.

Inevitably, there will be cases of measles that prompt warnings such as the one Saturday from Public Health-Seattle & King County about exposure from a visiting school child. We don't know the specifics of this case, but Washington state has far too big a problem with families delaying or avoiding childhood vaccinations.

While still below national standards, the state has made substantial progress recently in persuading people to have vaccinations. The alert shows the wider difficulties when measles exposure occurs. A simple trip to a doughnut shop, a fast food restaurant or the Experience Music Project will now have many families checking to see if someone was exposed to measles, which can lead to serious and potentially deadly complications.

Globalization and climate change will cause new health threats. As SARS and AIDS have shown, health care systems and scientists must be able to mobilize against emerging threats. It's foolish to keep measles and other so-called childhood diseases in the mix by neglecting immunization. And it's almost entirely preventable.