GOP Rep.: 'Illegal Aliens' May Have Started Measles Outbreak In U.S.

[Igel]

11. Some are higher than the US rates.

Some are lower.

Those south of the border that are nearby are generally lower.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/02/03/map-113-countries-have-higher-measles-immunization-rates-than-the-u-s-for-1-year-olds/


During the last big controversy over this, the data was cherry picked by both sides to show that they and only they are the true masters of over-simplification. One side picked infectious disease rates that indicated a problem--things like TB, for instance. The other picked countries and diseases in which SA countries had finished implementing widespread immunization programs.

The result is that many think that Latin America is a bastion of disease-free populations, while another "many" think that it's a disease-ridden population at death's door.

Regardless of status, the only reason that Central America is a plausible origin for the disease vector is numbers. The incidence in higher in many parts of Africa and S. Asia, but the number of likely carriers is simply much smaller--the populations that are likely to not be vaccinated are typically not those that easily buy plane tickets to visit Disneyland. Far easier to cross the land border than the Pacific or Atlantic. But we're talking plausibility, not even quantified probabilities.