[VIDEO] The Power of Fear: 7 Years of Outbreaks in 70 Seconds

We have effective and inexpensive ways to prevent diseases, but they continue to spread. Why? 

In middle-class communities across the U.S., most notably California, parents who believe vaccines are unsafe are refusing to get their babies and toddlers vaccinated against whooping cough, measles, and mumps.

For instance, in 2010, there were 12,000 cases of whooping cough reported worldwide, with 5,000 in California alone. According to a report released by the California Department of Public Health the fall of 2014, that number had risen to nearly 8,000 cases for the year.

A confluence of the same fears held by some American parents, religious objections, and weak medical infrastructures has also hampered vaccination efforts and contributed to a measles outbreak that swept South Africa and Central Africa between 2009 and 2013. The disease is highly contagious and can prove fatal to young children.

The video below is a data visualization showing the spread of diseases that could have been easily prevented by vaccines from 2008 to 2014. 

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