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A poster from the Los Angeles County Public Health Department lists the symptoms of measles. (Damian Dovarganes / AP)
In the United States, at least 704 people have been infected this year with measles, a highly contagious and potentially deadly disease, according to a new report released Monday morning by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is the largest number of cases in a single year in 25 years and represents a huge setback for public health after measles reported in the United States in 2000. More than 500 infected people in 22 states have not been vaccinated. Sixty-six people were hospitalized, including 24 with pneumonia. More than a third of cases are children under five.
The largest and most lasting epidemics occur in Rockland County and Brooklyn, New York, in ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities.
13 epidemics were reported in 2019, representing 663 cases, or 94% of the total cases. The CDC defines an outbreak as three or more cases. Half of these epidemics were associated with unified, non-vaccinated religious or cultural communities, accounting for 88% of all cases.
In response to the record number of cases this year, New York City has imposed a mandatory vaccination order and Rockland County has required anyone with measles to avoid public places or be fined. $ 2,000 a day. And in California, hundreds of students were quarantined last week after a measles student had taken classes for three days while it was contagious at the University from California to Los Angeles, and another contagious person spent hours at the California State University Library in Los Angeles.
Rare and extreme measures reflect the severity of this year's outbreaks. In a statement Monday, Social Services and Health Secretary Alex Azar said, "We have come a long way in the fight against infectious diseases in America, but we risk going back and seeing our families our neighbors and our communities needlessly suffer from preventable diseases. "
"We are very concerned about the recent worrying increase in the number of measles cases," Azar said during a briefing with reporters. Measles is not a harmless disease, but deadly consequences that most people have not seen since its elimination in 2000. "Vaccine-preventable diseases must be included in health-care books." history, not in our emergency rooms. The suffering we see today is totally preventable. Vaccines are safe because they are among the most studied medical products, "said Azar.
On the occasion of National Infant Immunization Week, he urged everyone to ensure that they and their loved ones respect the CDC's recommended vaccination schedule, which provides guidelines for people of any age and suffering from specific health problems.
There is no treatment and no cure for measles, said Robert Redfield, director of the CDC. "There is no way to predict the severity of a case of measles," he said. Most of the people sick during this year's outbreaks have not been vaccinated, and most of them are children under 18, he said. "Measles can be serious in any age group, but especially in children under 5 years old and older adults, they are more likely to suffer from complications."
No deaths were reported in the event of an outbreak this year.
Measles can be deadly, especially for babies and young children. Some people may have serious complications, such as pneumonia (lung infection) and encephalitis (swelling of the brain), which can result in hospitalization and death. Measles can cause a pregnant woman to give birth prematurely or a low birth weight baby.
Up to one in 20 children with measles contract pneumonia, the leading cause of measles deaths in young children. About 1 in 1,000 children who get measles will develop encephalitis, which can lead to seizures and can leave the child deaf or mentally handicapped. On average, for every 1,000 children with measles, one or two will die.
The United States was able to eliminate individual measles transmission in 2000. The two recommended doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are 97% effective in a person for measles prevention. But because the virus is so contagious, communities must have almost perfect rates, between 93 and 95 percent of the population vaccinated to protect against the disease.
Gaps in immunization coverage in the United States and around the world in recent years have resulted in lower vaccination rates and many countries in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Africa are experiencing outbreaks of measles.
As a result, when unvaccinated travelers contract measles overseas and return to the United States, particularly in unified communities with low immunization rates, these communities are "at risk of persistent measles outbreaks", according to the CDC report.
The virus lives in the nose and throat of an infected person. It can spread through direct contact with infectious droplets or through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. The measles virus can remain contagious in the air for up to two hours after the departure of an infected person. If other people breathe contaminated air or touch the infected surface and then touch the eyes, nose or mouth, they may become infected. Measles is so contagious that if someone is infected, almost 90% of those close to that person or walking in the same area who are not safe may also be infected.
Read more:
Unaware that he had measles, a man traveled from New York to Michigan, infecting 43 people
The Senate of Washington State passes a law on vaccination against anti-vaxxers
Do I need another MMR vaccine and other questions about measles?
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