In the previous three months, there has been a significant increase in measles cases, partly due to outbreaks that have been concentrated at a children’s hospital and day care in Philadelphia, an elementary school in southeast Florida, and a migrant shelter in Chicago.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of Thursday, the number of cases reported in the United States across 17 states has surpassed 59 from the previous year.
The majority of cases this year that were recorded included children who had not had the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination, and most of them were associated with travel abroad.
The vaccine is 97% effective when administered in two doses, but this week the CDC warned healthcare professionals that “pockets of low [vaccination] coverage leave some communities at higher risk for outbreaks.”
As of Wednesday, there were 33 instances in Chicago, 22 of which were children under the age of five. The majority of the cases are linked to the continuing epidemic that started at a Pilsen area migrant shelter.
In contrast, Pennsylvania had nine occurrences between December and January. There are already 11 cases of measles in Florida after the most recent case was reported on Friday. However, the Florida Health Department reports that the epidemic that affected a Broward County primary school has ceased.
The number of cases in the United States isn’t quite as high as it was in 2019, when the nation almost lost its measles eradication status, despite disease experts’ concerns about the early surge in cases. The majority of the 1,249 cases that year were linked to outbreaks in New York’s Orthodox Jewish communities.
Measles is very infectious; if a person’s contacts aren’t immune, they may get it from up to 90% of individuals in their immediate vicinity. Measles was declared eradicated in the United States in 2000 as a result of universal vaccination; nonetheless, outbreaks still occur sometimes.
The majority of measles cases nowadays are caused by unvaccinated individuals. In the United States, children should get their first vaccination between the ages of 12 and 15 months, and their second dose between the ages of 4 and 6.
Nonetheless, during the last several years, immunization rates have decreased. Ninety-five percent of American kindergarteners have gotten two doses of the MMR vaccination for over ten years. In 2020–21, the rate dropped to 94%, and in 2022–23, it dropped to 93%.
Typically, a high fever, cough, conjunctivitis (pink eye), and runny nose are the first signs of measles. People may see little white patches in their mouths two to three days later. A blotchy rash usually appears around the hairline on days three to five of symptoms and then spreads to the rest of the body.
Serious side effects from measles may sometimes include pneumonia, brain swelling, or a recurrent bacterial infection. Before measles vaccinations were first accessible in 1963, the illness annually caused 400–500 deaths and 48,000 hospital admissions in the United States.
According to the CDC, 1 in 5 unvaccinated cases of measles result in hospitalization, and 2 to 3 deaths per 1,000 cases of measles in children are caused by respiratory and neurological complications.
source: nbc news
