By Karen L. Kier, Pharmacist
On behalf of the ONU Healthwise Team 

On August 21, 1987, the movie Dirty Dancing was released in the United States. One of the most famous lines from the picture was “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”  Johnny Castle, played by Patrick Swayze, tells this line to Baby, played by Jennifer Grey. In 2024, the movie was selected to be preserved in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. 

The phrase from the movie has become iconic and represents a stance of empowerment or standing up to societal expectations.  

When it comes to preventing the spread of diseases to babies and infants, is keeping babies away from others–or “in the corner”--a viable approach?

In the last few weeks, the Ohio Department of Health Department has announced several cases of measles in Ohio. Ten people in Ashtabula County have been diagnosed with measles whose cases can be linked back to one unvaccinated man. Additional cases have been reported in Knox and Allen counties. All cases involved individuals who were unvaccinated at the time of exposure. 

Measles or rubeola is a highly contagious viral respiratory infection spread through the air by coughing, sneezing and talking. The measles virus can spread via surfaces. The virus can live on surfaces for up to two hours. Exposure studies have determined that if ten people surround one infected individual, then nine would develop the infection. 

Symptoms of measles include fever, cough, runny nose, red watery eyes and a rash. The rash is the critical sign of measles and it starts on the face as small red bumps and then spreads to the rest of the body. Someone exposed to measles who has the virus circulating in their system is contagious four days prior to developing the rash and four days after the rash appears. 

Measles can have very serious complications including death.  In 2023, the global death rate was over 100,000 lives. There was one case of death with the serious outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico recently. 

Other serious complications can include pneumonia, an inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) and ear infections. Those with the most critical risk include babies, infants, pregnant females and those with a suppressed immune system. Exposure during pregnancy can increase the risk of birth defects. Forty percent of those who get measles will develop a complication. 

The best way to prevent measles is to receive the MMR vaccine. This vaccine protects against measles, mumps and rubella (German measles). The MMR vaccine contains a weaker form of the live viruses and allows the body to develop an immunity from the diseases without causing the disease. It is important to talk to your healthcare professional to make sure you qualify for the vaccine.  

The first dose of MMR is recommended for infants at 12-15 months of age with a second dose between 4 to 6 years prior to kindergarten. The CDC does have guidelines for infants traveling internationally to receive the MMR at 6 months, but no specific recommendations for an outbreak.  If an infant receives the MMR before 12 months, the plan is to give two more doses.

MMR is not only for children. For those who were never vaccinated, they are eligible to receive the MMR vaccine. Research indicates to achieve community protection from measles then 95% would need to be vaccinated for herd immunity. Those presumed to have natural immunity due to past exposure to a measles infection includes individuals born before 1957.  

Measles can be a serious infection with complications. Since infants less than 12 months are not considered eligible for an MMR vaccine, it becomes important to protect them from exposure to the disease.

Babies may not need to be in the corner, but we should limit their exposure to potential infections. 

ONU Healthwise is offering flu, RSV and COVID-19 vaccines at clinics Monday-Friday from 4:00-6:00 p.m.  Please call 419-772-3784 for more information.