abcnews.com - An evolving community in the big city of Minneapolis is fighting a dangerous virus -- and a battle of beliefs.
The largest measles outbreak in the Minnesota city in 25 years, this April, affected 34 people primarily between the ages of 0 to 5, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Eleven have been hospitalized.
The majority, 29, of the measles cases were among Somali Minnesotans, according to the state health department, which has been working to improve vaccination rates in their community.
State and local officials have been searching for any other people exposed to the virus –- potentially 3,000 more -- who may be unvaccinated and vulnerable, to try and stop the spread of the disease.
While the overall vaccine compliance rate for Minnesota kindergartners is around 90 percent, it is only about 40 percent in the Somali community, according to Kris Ehresmann, director for infectious disease at the Minnesota Department of Health.
"We've known it's going to be a matter of time before something happens," she said about the recent outbreak.
In 2011, a similar outbreak occurred in the Somali community in Minnesota after a toddler who had visited Kenya contracted the virus. In that outbreak, 19 children and two adults were infected, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state health department.
A report from the American Academy of Pediatrics found that in the Minneapolis Somali community, the vaccination rate had dropped precipitously from over 90 percent in 2004 to 54 percent in 2010, likely helping that outbreak to spread.
Vaccination rates are believed to have dropped over concerns about autism, despite definitive research that refutes a link between vaccines and autism, according to Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and former state epidemiologist.
"Vaccinations have dropped drastically, but autism rates have stayed the same," Osterholm said about the sizable Somali population in Minneapolis.
Osterholm said that some groups who are skeptical about vaccines have expressed distrust in public health officials trying to stop the outbreak. In addition to other concerns, some have said the vaccinations are unnecessary because the measles outbreaks have ended quickly. Osterholm said the reason is the response and "thousands of hours" spent by public health workers to treat the sick and isolate and vaccinate people exposed to the virus.
But advocates for limiting or eliminating vaccinations have encouraged the Somali community in Minneapolis to be skeptical. (ontinueReading
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