CDC Issues U.S. Measles Health Advisory

In the U. S. from Jan. 1 through March 28, 2008, 24 confirmed cases of measles resulting from importations from endemic countries have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Cases have been confirmed in Arizona, New York City, Virginia and California in 2008. In the February 2008 Arizona case, a person from Switzerland was hospitalized with measles and pneumonia. This one case resulted in the verification of the immune status of 1800 healthcare personnel, those found to be without immunity were offered vaccinations. At this time nine other people ranging in age from 10 months to 50 years have now been confirmed as having measles and being linked back to the initial carrier. This investigation in still ongoing at this time and has already involved hundreds of people. In August of 2007 a 12 year-old boy traveled from Japan to the U.S. to participant in an international youth sporting event held in Pennsylvania. These events included eight U.S. teams and eight international teams representing Canada, Chinese Taipei, Curacao, Japan, Netherlands, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. Combined participant and spectator attendance for the event was estimated to be 265,000. Team members (boys aged 10--13 years) and coaches resided in the same compound during the event, with a common area shared by all teams. That trip started a domino-like effect that resulted in a multi-state measles outbreak investigation that did identify seven other cases and involved the testing and the review of hundreds of people. So while measles is not considered endemic in the U.S. it is still endemic in most other countries such as Switzerland, Israel Japan and India and remains a leading cause of death in young children even though their has been a vaccine for 40 years. Just think on this.

The measles virus is so contagious that if one person has it, 90 percent of that person's close contacts who aren't immunized will become infected.

Are you sure you are immunized? The following are the signs and symptoms of measles which do not appear until 10 to 12 days after exposure: Fever Dry cough Runny nose Inflamed eyes Sensitivity to light. Tiny red spots with bluish-white centers found inside the mouth on the inner lining of the cheek. A skin rash made up of large, flat blotches that often flow into one another. If you suspect you or a family member may have the measles do not go into the emergency room or the doctors office without calling first and asking what you should do and follow their directions as you risk exposing so many more people otherwise.