A LAX passenger who has traveled with measles raises concerns about a possible outbreak: LAist

Health officials in Los Angeles County alerted travelers about possible measles exposure at LAX at the end of last month. last alarming development of a disease that was once thought to be eliminated in the United States.

The infected passenger transited through Terminal B at the airport, which serves international flights, and Terminal 3 at Delta Airlines between 0900 and 2100 hours. Feb. 21, according to the L.A. County Public Health Department.

Terminal B has 29 gates and hosts a number of international airlines including Air France, China Airlines, Lufthansa and Korean Air. Terminal 3 has 12 gates and is home to Delta Airlines and smaller companies like Interjet and Copa.

According to the flight numbers issued by health officials, the person with measles landed for the first time at LAX Terminal B on the morning of 21 February on a China Eastern flight from Shanghai. He or she then went to Terminal 3, Gate 32, to wait for a flight from Delta to San Antonio, Texas.

L.A. County officials said they learned about the existence of the highly contagious virus on March 7th.

IN NUMBERS

Last year, five cases were reported in L.A. County, according to the County Public Health Department. This year, there was a confirmed case in Pasadena where an international traveler came to the area and then returned home.

The last major measles outbreak in California – defined as three or more connected cases – occurred late 2014 and is linked to an infected person who went to Disneyland. This case was ultimately linked to 147 cases in seven states, as well as in Mexico and Canada.

The latter case came to light at a time when measles outbreaks affected 12 states, including California and Washington. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 220 measles cases – including six epidemics – have been reported between January 1 and March 7, the first ten weeks of this year. That's more than half of the cases reported in 2018.

The resurgence of measles is of great concern to public health experts. In 2000, the United States declared that measles had been eliminated. The CDC attributed this elimination to the 97% effective MMR vaccination.

Measles is so very contagious that if an infected person is infected, then 90% of the people close to the infected person and not vaccinated will be infected. The virus is best known for its rashes, its tiny white spots, which it leaves behind. But the virus spreads by coughing and wheezing and can survive up to two hours in the airspace where the infected person coughs or sneezes. Someone might be infected for days before symptoms begin to appear. Measles can lead to brain damage, paralysis and even death.

So why do we think we have to defeat an illness? Health experts say this is due to parents who refuse vaccines for their children. In 2015, after the outbreak of Disneyland, California moved into toughen the need for vaccines. The law prohibited new exemptions based on personal or religious convictions for pupils enrolled in crèches, kindergartens and kindergartens. High vaccination rates protect people who can not be vaccinated because of the deficiency of their immune system, a concept known as collective immunity.

But the renaissance of measles is not just happening in the United States, as the LAX traveler points out. According to the World Health Organization, the number of measles cases reported worldwide has increased by 30% between 2016 and 2017. Thus, the CDC warns that outbreaks may be related to people traveling to the country. abroad, especially in countries where epidemics are more important.

Lack of standard rules

Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, Professor of Infectious Diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), points out that vaccination requirements vary from state to state. other in California. And traveling is one of the fastest ways to spread measles.

"So we need federal leadership in this area, with minimum federal standards in each state that mandate measles immunization and vaccination against other communicable diseases before school entry." said Klausner.

If you think you are developing measles symptoms, contact your doctor. If you have not developed symptoms by March 14th, you are no longer considered to be at risk of contracting this exposure.

UPDATES:

4:47 p.m.: This article has been updated with the date that people are no longer considered at risk of this exposure.

This article was published at 16h.