Worldwide Measles Spotlight: Week Ending February 2, 2019

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and other news sources reported significant increases in measles cases during the week ending February 2, 2019. 

The CDC has confirmed 79 individual cases of measles from 10 states during 2019. The CDC’s data may not include recent state-based news reports. 

The most discussed measles outbreak in the USA has been focused on the Oregon - Washington area. 

USA:

• Atlanta, GA: The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) has confirmed measles in three residents of the metro Atlanta area. All three individuals are members of the same family. These individuals were not vaccinated. 
• California:  Los Angeles County officials confirmed 1 case of measles in a person who visited several locations in Malibu, Pasadena, and Santa Monica while infectious during 2019.
• Colorado: Denver Public Health confirmed 1 adult with measles who had traveled internationally. 
• Connecticut: Connecticut Department of Public Health confirmed an unidentified 1 New Haven County adult has measles. 
• Hawaii: Hawaii Department of Health has confirmed 2 cases of measles during 2019 in unvaccinated children visiting the Big Island from Washington state.
• Illinois: Champaign-Urbana Public Health District is reporting a 2nd local case of measles, with both of the infected people connected to the University of Illinois. 
• New Jersey: Between October 2018 and January 2019, the New Jersey Department of Health confirmed 33 outbreak-associated cases, including 30 in Ocean County residents and 3 cases in a Passaic County household. Because no new cases have been identified, the New Jersey outbreak is being considered over.
• New York City: As of January 29, 2019, there have been 64 confirmed measles cases in Brooklyn since October 2018.
• Oregon: The Oregon Health Authority has confirmed 1 case of measles in a resident of Multnomah County. People with measles visited the following locations in the Portland metro area and could have exposed others.
• Rockland County, NY:  As of February 1, 2019, there were 130 confirmed measles cases 
• Rochester, NY:  The Monroe County Health Department says it is aware of 3 non-lab confirmed cases of measles, in addition to 4 previously announced, which increases the total number of measles cases during 2019 to 7.
• Washington: Clark County Public Health has identified 47 confirmed cases and 7 suspect cases. 

The Americas: 

• According to a new report published by the CDC on January 30, 2019, Venezuela had contributed 68 percent (5,525/8,091 cases) of the measles cases reported in the Americas and most of the measles-related deaths (73/85).

World:

• Australia: Measles cases were reported in New South Wales, Sydney and Perth. 
• England: A warning has been issued regarding a measles outbreak in Greater Manchester. 
• Georgia: Minister of IDPs, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, Davit Sergeenko, has stated that the vaccination against measles will be free of charge for all citizens of Georgia.  
• Israel: Ministerial committee tells doctors they could put children and adults at risk, as they 'mislead the public and endanger health' 
• Italy: During 2018, Italy reported 2,548 measles cases. 
• France: As of January 2019, France reported 2,912 measles cases during 2018.   The CDC issued a Level 1 Travel Alert regarding France’s measles outbreak during 2018.
• Kazakhstan: Measles has been confirmed in more than 1,600 citizens of Kazakhstan 
• Madagascar: Measles outbreak case count has risen to 28,747 and 80 deaths since early October. The vast majority of the outbreak cases have been reported in children. 
• Philippines: During 2018, 211 measles cases were confirmed in Region #6.
• Poland: 75.9 percent of people in Poland reported least likely to agree that vaccines are important for children to have. 
• Portugal: The Directorate General of Health announced 37 measles cases had been confirmed since November 8 in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region and in Madeira. 
• South Korea: A total of 38 confirmed measles were reported on January 25th.  
• Thailand: 285 measles cases including one death have been reported from 31 provinces during 2019.
• Ukraine: Health officials reported 11,757 people with measles from December 28, 2018, to January 25, 2019.
• Vietnam: Ministry of Health’s delegation confirmed 1,989 measles cases, 95 percent of them had not been vaccinated and most of the patients are below 10 years old while a surge in measles adults in the age of 26-34 is being recorded during 2019. 

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease, without specific antiviral treatment available. Measles starts with fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes, and sore throat. It’s followed by a rash that spreads over the body, says the CDC.

Measles is often brought into the United States by unvaccinated people who become infected in other countries, says the CDC.

These international travelers then spread measles upon their return, which cause outbreaks in the USA.

In the USA, there are 2 approved measles vaccines, MMR-II and ProQuad.

International travelers can request a vaccine appointment with a pharmacy at Vax-Before-Travel.

The CDC Vaccine Price List provides the private sector vaccine prices for general information.

And, measles vaccine discounts can be found here.

Vaccines, similar to medications, can cause side effects, says the CDC.

Significant vaccine side effects should be reported to the CDC.