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Measles Outbreak Update - Pfister
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The ongoing nationwide outbreak of measles, and previous outbreaks in the US, demonstrates that unvaccinated persons place not only themselves but their community at risk and that high vaccination coverage is important to prevent the spread of measles after importation.
The latest outbreak started in California in December 2014. The initial confirmed case reported visiting Disneyland Resort Theme Parks in Orange County. At this time, no source case for the outbreak has been identified, but it is likely a traveler or travelers infected with measles overseas visited one or both of the Disney parks in December during their infectious period. Genetic analysis of the viruses from several Disneyland related patients identified that all of the viruses are identical to the type that caused the large measles outbreak in the Philippines in 2014.
The outbreak continued to intensify in January 2015 with over 100 cases reported from 14 states, including eleven confirmed cases in suburban Cook County, IL. With the exception of 2014, this is typically the number of cases reported for a whole year nationwide. The majority of the people who became ill were unvaccinated. In 2014, the U.S. experienced 23 measles outbreaks with 644 cases, including one large outbreak occurring primarily among unvaccinated Amish communities in Ohio. In 2013, there were 11 outbreaks reported nationwide. Again, most cases were in persons who were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status.
Measles is a serious respiratory disease caused by a virus (morbillivirus). It is highly contagious and spreads through the air primarily when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Before the U.S. measles vaccination program started in 1963, about 3-4 million people in the U.S. got measles each year; 400-500 of them died; 48,000 were hospitalized; and 4,000 developed encephalitis. The virus is extremely contagious: on average, 90% of those exposed to som...
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