May 2, 2008
Almost 70 Measles Cases Reported in U.S. Since January
Measles, the once-common childhood disease declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, has made a comeback. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from January 1 through April 25 of this year, 64 confirmed cases of the highly contagious disease have been reported, the highest number since 2001. The outbreaks are still ongoing in Arizona, New York, Michigan and Wisconsin. CDC said 10 of the patients acquired the disease abroad and the others caught measles from one of them. Only one of the patients had been inoculated; 14 were too young for vaccination. Many of the rest of the children were not vaccinated because their parents objected, the CDC reported. The disease still is common worldwide and in 2005, 311,000 children under the age of 5 died from measles. Symptoms include rash, high fever, coughing and runny nose. Complications include ear infections, pneumonia, encephalitis and even death. CDC said the case “remind us that it is important to vaccinate children and adults to protect them against measles.”
The CDC study may be found at http://www.cdc.gov/Features/MeaslesUpdate/.
