A measles outbreak is occurring in the Philadelphia area after at least eight people have been diagnosed with the highly contagious virus.
NBC News The outbreak reportedly began when a child – who had spent time abroad – became ill at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Doctors finally decided that the disease was measles. As of 2011 World Health OrganizationMeasles is easily spread when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. It can affect anyone but is more common in children. Symptoms may include high fever, cough, runny nose and a rash all over the body.
The Philadelphia Department of Public Health did not confirm to NBC News where the child contracted the disease.
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While in the hospital, the child spread the illness to three other patients, including the parent and child, for other health reasons, he said.
The child who had measles in the hospital had yet to be vaccinated. Their parents were not vaccinated either. The adult is said to have refused after exposure to unvaccinated adults who were given medication to prevent disease.
When his parents ignored him, things got worse Philadelphia Department of Public HealthQuarantine rules recommend that anyone exposed to measles stay home and away from others.
Instead, they sent the boy to daycare on December 20 and 21. There, measles spread to four more people. The Health Department told NBC News that none of the infected people were immune to measles, meaning they had never received the measles-mumps-measles (MMR) vaccine or had never had measles before.
Doug Thompson, chief medical officer at St. Christopher’s Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, told the outlet that the hospital has seen three patients between the ages of 1 and 2 in the current outbreak. None of them were vaccinated, he added.
“With people who have had the rash, we’ve certainly been on the highest alert, but we’re asking everyone about exposure to people with measles,” he said.
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A press release From the city of Philadelphia, he stated that the city is currently identifying all those who have been exposed, checking their vaccination status, warning them that they may be exposed and, when necessary, providing recommendations for neutralization and isolation.
Additionally, while Philadelphia has a high vaccination rate, at least 93% of children who are fully vaccinated by age 6, and 90% of those who have had close contact with an infected person, will get measles if they are not vaccinated.
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according to Data In November 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization released the measles crisis, which is still a widespread issue.
A joint report released by the agencies on Friday reported an 18 percent increase in measles cases and a 43 percent increase in measles deaths from 2021 to 2022. Vaccination declines during the Covid-19 pandemic have been implicated as a contributing factor.
“Measles vaccine coverage and global surveillance in 2022 showed modest recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, but coverage declined in low-income countries, and years of suboptimal vaccination coverage globally left millions of children vulnerable.” The report he said.
The number of countries experiencing worrisome outbreaks rose from 22 to 37 as the number of measles cases worldwide increased from 7,802,000 to 9,232,300. 2022.
“The increase in measles outbreaks and death rates is surprising, but unfortunately, not unexpected given the decline in vaccination rates we’ve seen over the past few years,” said John Vertefeuil, director of the CDC’s Division of Global Immunization. News release. “Everywhere, measles threatens unvaccinated countries and communities. Urgent targeted efforts are critical to preventing measles morbidity and mortality.”