According to a study, Atlanta Airport puts the sector at high risk of measles

by



[ad_1]

Atlanta has largely avoided the resurgence of measles.

A threat could change that: the busiest airport in the world.

That's enough to land in Clayton County among the 25 US counties most at risk of epidemics, according to a study published Thursday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, a peer-reviewed medical journal. Clayton, home of Hartsfield-Jackson International, is ranked 21st.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and Johns Hopkins University based their ranking on two factors: the volume of international travel from foreign countries heavily affected by measles and the prevalence of malaria. non-medical exemptions from childhood vaccination.

According to the study, the three counties presenting the greatest risk were Cook County in Illinois, Los Angeles County in California, and Miami-Dade County in Florida.

Since January, more than 750 measles cases have been confirmed in 23 states, nearly double the number last year, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This year's count is already the highest figure since the virus was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000.

Most cases are related to international travel. It is at this point that an unvaccinated traveler brings the virus back to the United States from countries where the epidemic is ongoing, then exposes it to people who are not vaccinated.

The surge is primarily the result of some major outbreaks in Washington State and New York, according to the CDC. There were only six cases reported in Georgia – three family members in two separate families. None have been vaccinated. And no one lives in Clayton County.

<! –

->

Vaccination rates in Georgia are relatively high, although the state allows exemptions for medical or religious reasons. A CDC analysis of a national vaccination survey conducted in 2017 found that 1.3% of children born in 2015 had not received any recommended vaccines, up from 0.9% in 2011. In Georgia, about 0 8% of children under three received no vaccine. .

But 300,000 passengers cross Hartsfield-Jackson every day. This includes travelers from Brazil, Israel, Japan, the Philippines and Ukraine, five countries for which the CDC has issued travel advisories for measles outbreaks. The Atlanta-based agency estimates that 10 million people worldwide are infected with measles each year and that about 110,000 die from it.

The US Department of Customs and Border Protection, responsible for security at Hartsfield-Jackson, said Thursday that its policies and procedures were closely coordinated with the CDC at all points of entry. He indicated that CBP staff examined all travelers entering the United States for "obvious signs of illness," including visual observation, interrogation, and notification to the CDC, as appropriate.

Measles can be contagious four days before the appearance of a rash, which complicates the task of the observer to distinguish the disease from colds or allergies.

The virus spreads in the air by coughing and sneezing. It usually starts with fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes and sore throat. It's so infectious that an unvaccinated person can get measles just by being in a room where a person has been infected with measles even up to two hours after he or she leaves, according to the CDC. .

The CDC is sometimes informed of a sick traveler while a plane is still in the air, although the agency and its partners are usually informed of the illness after a flight. For example, a person ends up in a hospital with measles and a health care provider determines, based on the patient's travel history, that other passengers may have been at risk. It is at this point that health authorities strive to locate the patient and determine who should be notified and examined.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR: The three new cases in Georgia are part of a measles outbreak in the country

Hartsfield-Jackson is one of 20 US ports of entry with quarantine stations, staffed by CDC medical officials and public health officials.

A record 81 flights in the United States. were surveyed in 2018 for carrying at least one measles contagious person, compared to 15 in 2017 and 10 in 2016, according to the CDC. Of the 106 aircraft, 66 were on domestic routes and the rest were from foreign airports. The CDC did not provide figures for each airport.

Clayton County referred questions to the CDC.

Sahotra Sarkar, lead author of the Lancet study and professor at the University of Texas, is seeking an international vaccination certificate, the Yellow Card, to be able to bring travelers from countries where measles has broken out into the United States.

A CDC spokesman said the agency was not considering the yellow card for the moment.

The study authors warned that the most at-risk areas that have not yet reported cases are those near international airports, such as Travis County in Texas, Honolulu County, County from Salt Lake and several counties of Florida.

Measles can lead to serious complications, including pneumonia and encephalitis, or swelling of the brain. According to the CDC, one or two children will die from measles for 1,000 children with measles.

A recent CDC report indicates that there have been at least two dozen pneumonia cases, but no deaths, so far this year among people sick in the United States with measles.