Washington state officials have confirmed a woman’s death from measles, the first person in the U.S. to die of the disease in 12 years.
The Washington State Department of Health said it was likely the woman became exposed during an outbreak in Clallam County, just northwest of Seattle. The disease was reported in six people in the county versus a total of 11 in the state.
The woman visited a medical facility at the same time as a person later diagnosed with measles. She had a variety of health issues that depressed her immune system which caused death via pneumonia from measles.
“This tragic situation illustrates the importance of immunizing as many people as possible to provide a high level of community protection against measles,” the state health department’s statement read. “People with compromised immune systems often cannot be vaccinated against measles.”
The CDC said that measles were effectively eliminated in the United States in 2000 but are making a comeback due to adults who are delaying or avoiding vaccinations for their children.
The CDC said that 178 people have been diagnosed with measles in the United States this year with many connected to an outbreak at Disneyland during the 2014 holiday season.
An outbreak of measles that started at Disneyland is causing massive problems throughout California according to the LA Times.
Thirty babies are now in home isolation in Alameda County because of possible exposure to measles. Sherri Willis of the Alameda County Public Health Deaprtment told the LA Times that the children were not infected but had contact with measles patients.
“It is our job to try to determine who has been exposed,” Willis said.
There have been 87 confirmed cases of measles connected to the Disneyland strain. Officials say that most of the people who have contracted the disease were not vaccinated against it and urged all people to get vaccinations if they did not as a child.
Measles is spread through the air by coughing or sneezing. The U.S. had a record number of cases last year, with 644 infections in 27 states.
Other precautions being taken include over two dozen high school students from Huntington Beach High School being sent home because they were unvaccinated and one student was confirmed to have measles.
“Unimmunized students are excluded from school for 21 days past the date of exposure, during which they need to monitor themselves for signs of measles,” Deanne Thompson, Orange County health care agency spokeswoman said. “This is to avoid spreading the disease.”
A measles outbreak traced to Disney theme parks in California continues to grow with 70 people sickened from the highly contagious disease.
The outbreak has now spread to five states and into Mexico with the majority reported in California.
State epidemiologist Gil Chavez told reporters that anyone who has not had the MMR (mumps/measles/rubella) vaccine should temporarily avoid Disney theme parks. He also said highly crowded locations like airports or bus stations should also be avoided.
He said anyone who’s been vaccinated has nothing to fear.
State officials said cases range from 7 months to 70 years old. About 25% of those infected had to be hospitalized and five of the sickened were Disney employees.
Chavez said California averages 4 to 60 measles cases a year, so 2015 is off “to a bad start.” He said that it’s likely they won’t be able to find patient zero for this outbreak.
The recent outbreak of measles in New York City appears to have a very unlikely source.
Hospitals.
The Department has confirmed their investigators are looking into the possibility that virus was spreading through waiting rooms packed with people waiting for the ER to become available to see them. Because the virus can be spread easily when someone coughs, a person infected with the virus could potentially expose hundreds while waiting for a doctor.
“Sometimes the doctors are not quick to recognize that it is measles and therefore before you know it that patient has been sitting in a waiting room with 20 or 30 people around them and now they are exposed because these types of diseases are very infectious,” said Dr. Manny Alvarez of Fox News Channel.
Emails were sent to staff at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center giving instructions to help staff better recognize the signs of measles and encouraging them to act quickly and appropriately.
The Centers for Disease Control is warning the “eliminated” disease is becoming a threat again to the United States.
The CDC says because measles runs rampant overseas that travelers are bringing the disease back with them from foreign travel.
“A measles outbreak anywhere is a risk everywhere,” the CDC said in a press release. “The steady arrival of measles in the United States is a constant reminder that deadly diseases are testing our health security every day. Someday, it won’t be only measles at the international arrival gate; so, detecting diseases before they arrive is a wise investment in U.S. health security.”
The CDC reported that 18 children every hour around the world dies from measles.
Statistics for 2013 show 175 confirmed cases in the U.S. this year, almost three times the number of average cases each year since 2000.
The Syrian Civil War is having a disturbing side effect: a massive measles outbreak across the northern part of the country.
The nation’s vaccination program has disappeared since rebels began their attempts to overthrow the government. As a result, over 7,000 people have been confirmed to have measles in the last few months according to Doctors Without Borders. Continue reading →