As California measles cases mounted, so did Merck measles vaccine sales

The California measles outbreak may have just given new meaning to the phrase "scaring up some business." As news of the outbreak spread, health officials urged parents to vaccinate their children. And as more and more cases were reported--escalating from 7 cases to more than 100 in just one month--sales of Merck's ($MRK) M-M-R II vaccine shot up too, Bloomberg reports. The surge led to a 24% increase on sales of Merck's measles and other vaccines last quarter. More