US threatens to use rare ban on air travel for people suspected of measles who will try to steal

US health authorities are threatening a rare ban on air travel to prevent people suspected of measles from boarding planes and spreading the disease.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which controls the US "Do not Ship" list, told eight people from five different states that they could officially be prevented from boarding A plane if they did not voluntarily cancel their travel plans, The Washington Post reports.

The eight people agreed not to travel after being informed that the federal government could put them on the no-go list.

Most people are aware of the no-fly list, maintained by the Terrorist Security Administration, but they will be less aware that the CDC and Homeland Security have put in place the list of people not to embark on 2007 to restrict travel for public health purposes.

The CDC said it was contacted by public health officials in Texas, New York, California, Illinois, and Washington. Fortunately, they did not have to enforce the ban, because once people became aware of the seriousness of the situation, they canceled their plans.

"The deterrent effect is huge," Dr. Martin Cetron, director of the CDC's Global Migration and Quarantine Division, told the Washington Post.

The agency was reluctant to use the travel ban because it feared that the government would exercise its power over people, despite the prevention of people with potentially infectious diseases that logically travel.

The last time it was applied was in 2014, when the United States experienced an unusual surge in the number of measles cases, from 187 in 2013 to 667 the following year. The latest figures from the CDC on the number of measles cases confirmed so far this year are 880 in 24 states, double the total of last year, and we have not even finished yet. half of 2019.

CDC spokesman Caitlin Shockey told CNN that the eight people were either infected, suspected to be infected with the virus, or at high risk of contracting the virus because they were not vaccinated and were contact with a person who had measles.

Earlier this year, officials from the state of New York and New York City, who experienced the country's largest epidemic, contacted the CDC for advice on placing two infected adults on the list of people not to attend the board of directors. the virus – for the most part unvaccinated – had been in contact with an infected person during the 21-day virus incubation period.

Obviously, the safest way to immunize yourself (and your children) is to get vaccinated. The growing movement of reluctance to immunize exposes many people to unnecessary risks, and the CDC has made it clear that they will apply the travel ban if people who are likely to transmit the infection refuse to cancel their travel plans. for the health and safety of people.

Do not forget that if you think you have contracted measles, do not go to the nearest hospital. It is the place where the people who are most likely to be infected are affected by a weakened immune system that does not allow them to live. The CDC recommends that you contact your doctor by telephone to explain your symptoms and will indicate the best course of action. If this requires a physical examination, they will organize it so as to minimize contact with other people. And whatever you do, do not take the plane.