Measles Outbreak in Arizona

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Source: http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/232180.php

Hourly Update
Measles cases in Pima County now number nine
County officials say it's "possible, and likely" that other cases may occur

Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.31.2008

County health officials are reporting more measles cases.
There are now nine confirmed cases of measles and officials said in a press release that they consider it "possible, and likely, that transmission of the disease could occur in the community as well as in health care settings."
The number is a big increase from the last measles update from the county, when a second case was confirmed in early March in a patient who visited Northwest Medical Center and likely contracted the infection there.
The Tucson woman had gone to Northwest's emergency room in mid-February, during the same period a European tourist unknowingly infected with measles also was there.
Once measles was confirmed in the first patient, county health officials launched a search for the several thousand patients and visitors at that hospital, at 6200 N. La Cholla Blvd., possibly exposed during that time, Feb. 12-15.
Though now rare in the United States because of high childhood vaccination rates, the measles virus spreads easily through the air and is considered one of the most contagious of all infectious diseases.
Pima County had logged only one "probable" measles case in recent years, in 2007 - the only case in all of Arizona last year. No measles cases occurred in the state in 2006 and only one in 2005, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
According to the Health Department:
Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes for a few days followed by rash. Complications from measles, which can range from an ear infection to encephalitis, are of utmost concern to public health practitioners. One to two children in a thousand die from the measles infection. Pregnant women who develop measles are more likely to miscarry, deliver prematurely, or have a very low birth weight baby.
Residents are urged to contact the health care facility or doctor?s office prior to arrival if measles is suspected (especially if a few days of fever has been experienced and a rash is now developing). If sick, wait to visit newborns or other persons in the hospital. This is especially important if you have symptoms that may be due to measles infection.

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Re: Measles Outbreak in Arizona

Source: http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/233812.php

Tucson records 10th measles case; UMC patient may have exposed others
Health Department officials are holding a news conference this afternoon to address the possible exposure at University Medical Center's ER
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 04.10.2008

The Pima County Health Department has confirmed another case of measles ? and officials say the patient apparently spent nine hours at University Medical Center?s emergency room late last week, potentially infecting even more people.
Agency officials are holding a news conference this afternoon to release more information about the case, which would be the 10th confirmed case of measles in Pima County since February, when an infected woman from Switzerland visited the emergency room at Northwest Medical Center.
A news release from the Health Department said officials have been working together to address the potential exposure at UMC, which would have occurred between 7 p.m. Thursday and 4 a.m. Friday. Health Department officials will open a cell center beginning Friday at 8:30 a.m. to take calls from the public about the potential exposure. The line will be staffed from 8:30-4:30 Friday and from 11-3 on Saturday and Sunday. The number is 243-7808.
Last week, health officials said they were concerned measles could be spreading through the community, after they confirmed the third through ninth cases. As a result, officials began urging earlier measles vaccinations for infants, who are extremely vulnerable to serious complications from the virus.
Though it?s now rare in the United States due to high childhood vaccination rates, the measles virus spreads easily through the air and is considered one of the most contagious of all infectious diseases. In the worst cases, measles can progress to pneumonia or encephalitis and can cause seizures, deafness and even death.
Measles cases dropped dramatically nationwide after 1957, the year that the MMR vaccine ? for measles, mumps and rubella ? was developed. The disease was considered virtually eliminated in the United States by 2000.
Even a single measles case is rare in Pima County, where only one ?probable? case has been recorded in recent years ? in 2007, the only case that year in the entire state.
However, controversy in recent years about a suspected link to autism has affected vaccination rates somewhat here, and to a large degree in Britain and elsewhere in Europe, where major outbreaks are occurring.
European tourists visiting the United States in recent years have set off small outbreaks here ? in Indiana in 2005, more recently in San Diego and now in Tucson.

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Re: Measles Outbreak in Arizona

Source: http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp...0&nav=14RTLtNd

Measles Alert
Posted: April 10, 2008 09:08 PM

Posted By: Jonathan Saupe KOLD News 13 Producer & Teresa Jun KOLD News 13 Reporter/Anchor

The Arizona Department of Health Services Laboratory, Health Department and UMC staff has been working together on addressing the potential Measles exposure to patients and families who were at UMC Emergency Department April 3, 2008 from 7:00 p.m. until 4:00 a.m. on April 4.

"All of the exposed infants on the patient's ward have now been given a prophylactic," said Dr. Sean Elliott, with University Medical Center. UMC officials say up to hundreds of people who were in the hospital may have been exposed.

This latest patient is Pima County's 10th reported measles case in the last few months. This outbreak began in February when an infected patient exposed others at Northwest Medical Center. This latest case though is different because the source of exposure is unknown, and believed to be unrelated to the original sources of infection.

"This is the first of our cases in this outbreak that we can not link to one of our prior known areas of exposure," said Dr. Michelle McDonald, with the Pima County Public Health Department.

Symptoms of measles include a runny nose, coughing, high fever, red water eyes, and a rash. "If you get these symptoms, do not assume it's a cold or an allergy," Dr. McDonald said. "Get that confirmed before you go to school or work, and potentially expose others." She also cautions any potential infected patients from entering an emergency room, where the disease can spread to others. Instead, she urges calling Pima County Health workers first.

Measles is highly contagious - more so than the common cold. And it can become very serious if complications develop.

All ten of the Pima County measles cases -- 5 adults and 5 children -- are in recovering stages.

The Health Department will open its call center beginning tomorrow, Friday, April 11 from 8:30a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and continue to take calls on Saturday, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and Sunday from 11:00 to 3:00. The number to call is 520.243.7808.

Immunizations will be offered on Sunday, April 13, 2008 from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. at the Abrams Public Health Center, 3950 S. Country Club, in room 1108. There is a fee of $12 for adults and $15 per child, but no one will be refused service due to an inability to pay.

For more information log onto www.pimahealth.org or call 1-800-314-9243.

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Re: Measles Outbreak in Arizona

Source: http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/83005.php

Published: 04.19.2008
More possible measles exposure at Northwest Medical Center
HEIDI ROWLEY
Tucson Citizen

The Pima County Health Department has sent out letters to 200 Northwest Medical Center patients who may have been exposed to measles.
The time period in question: 9:45 p.m. April 8 to 7 a.m. April 9.
If you have measles symptoms - red eyes, fever, runny nose and rash - and were at the Northwest emergency room during that period, don't go to the doctor or urgent care without calling first and saying you may be contagious.
Monday during regular business hours you can call 243-7797 for advice on how to proceed.
Calling ahead will help protect others from getting sick.
There have been 11 confirmed cases of measles in Pima County since February. Before this outbreak, the last case of measles in the county was in 1994.
For more information log onto www.pimahealth.org.

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Re: Measles Outbreak in Arizona

Source: http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=8246675

Measles Outbreak in Pima County

Two children from area schools are being tested for the measles, that's according to Pima County Health officials.

The possible latest cases are two young boys. One child is a 7-year-old at Estes Elementary School in the Marana Unified School District. According to health officials he has measles like symptoms and is being treated at an area hospital. The other possible case is a 10-year-old boy, a student at Keeling Elementary School in the Amphitheater Unified School District. Officials say the boy also has measles like symptoms and is being tested.

Neither boy is being allowed back to his school during testing. Officials are requiring all students and staff to provide records of vaccinations or be vaccinated before returning to school.

Classes will be in session on Wednesday.

Currently there are 16 confirmed cases of the measles in Pima County.

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Re: Measles Outbreak in Arizona

Source: http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=8252755

Suspected Measles Exposure at Tucson School and Hospitals
Posted: April 30, 2008 08:18 PM

KOLD News 13 News Editor Marissa Pasquet

Officials with the Pima County Health Department are trying to get ahead of the measles outbreak that keeps growing in our city. Health officials are investigating two new possible cases of measles exposure in Pima County.

Representatives with the Pima County Health Department are asking anyone who was at the University Medical Center's Urgent Care between 11:30 p.m. Thursday and 2 p.m. Friday or was in Saint Mary's emergency department between 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Sunday to call the Pima County Health Department at 520-243-7797 to confirm their immunization status.

Officials have confirmed 16 cases and two suspected cases in Pima County. Health officials say one suspected case is a student at Keeling Elementary School and the other is a 3-month-old infant.

Wednesday, the County Health Department held a free immunization clinic; staff and faculty at Keeling elementary school received shots as well as people who thought they may have been exposed to the measles at the two local emergency rooms last week.

Approximately 500 people were exposed at UMC April 3-8, when an infant boy with the measles was admitted to the pediatric ward, according to Pima County Health officials.

Measles can result in serious health complications, according to health officials. About 1 in 10 children with measles will suffer from an ear infection and about 1 in 20 will get pneumonia.

For every 1,000 children who get measles, one will develop inflammation of the brain, risking permanent mental damage, and one or two will die, according to the Pima County Health Department's website: www.pimahealth.org/.
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Re: Measles Outbreak in Arizona

Source: http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=8275050&nav=14RT

Suspected Measles Cases Growing
Posted: May 5, 2008 08:52 PM

by Leasa Conze, KOLD News 13 Live at 5 Producer

Pima County's Health Department is now investigating 20 more possible cases of measles. They already had confirmed 17 cases.

Two students thought to have the highly contagious disease do not. One student attends Keeling Elementary; the other attends Estes Elementary.

Over the weekend, more than 2,100 people obtained measles shots from the County's free immunization clinics.

Monday, a Pima County Health Department spokesperson told KOLD News 13 the County is considering opening a measles immunization clinic that will operate independently and remain open until the current outbreak is brought under control.

The County may announce that new clinic on Tuesday. Choosing its location is still undetermined.

At laest 4,000 people have been exposed to the measles across the county.

This is the worst measles outbreak in the past 20 years.

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Re: Measles Outbreak in Arizona

Source: http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/237617


2 students test negative for measles
arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.06.2008

Lab work for two Tucson students suspected of having measles has come back negative, an official said Monday.
The Pima County Health Department tested the two students who attend Keeling and Estes elementary schools, said Patti Woodcock, an agency spokeswoman.
The number of confirmed measles cases in Pima County remained at 17 Monday, Woodcock said.
The Health Department will give free MMR ? measles, mumps and rubella ? vaccinations today from 1 to 4 p.m. at the south office, 175 W. Irvington Road. Another clinic will be held Thursday from 1 to 7 p.m. at the north office, 3550 N. First Ave.
Older adults who have already received the MMR vaccination are encouraged to get at least one booster even if they already had one when they were younger, Woodcock said. There is no harm in doing so, she said.
For more information on the measles, go to http://www.pimahealth.org/disease/measles.html or call 243-7797 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday, through Friday.

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Re: Measles Outbreak in Arizona

Source: http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/239098

Tucson Region
Cops, firefighters advised to get shots for measles
By Carla McClain
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.15.2008
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As the battle against the measles outbreak rages on, a campaign has been launched to vaccinate police and firefighters throughout the Tucson region against the highly contagious disease.
This week, nearly 2,000 members of the Tucson Police and Fire departments are being targeted for measles shots, if they cannot show proof of immunity.
With 20 confirmed measles cases in this area since the outbreak started in February, and more than a dozen new suspected cases under investigation ?
including several at local day-care centers ? all-out efforts are under way to immunize as many unprotected residents as possible.
"As you know, we go into all kinds of homes and come in contact with all kind of people," said Sgt. Mark Robinson, a spokesman for the Tucson Police Department.
"This makes perfect sense to us as a common-sense precautionary measure. It just takes one contact with an infected person to bring it back to a briefing here, and expose all of us. That could conceivably be crippling to us, if measles were to spread through the department."
Roughly 1,200 members of the Police Department ? including officers and detectives, crime-scene specialists and community-service officers ? are affected by the "strong recommendation" to get vaccinated if they cannot show immunity through a blood test or shot record, Robinson said.
"I've got to get my measles shot ? pretty much everybody does," he said.
Both city police and firefighters will be immunized at closed clinics set up at four Tucson fire stations around the city, with vaccine provided by the Pima County Health Department.
That includes some 600 uniformed firefighters also ordered to get the MMR shots ? for measles, mumps and rubella ? if they're not currently immune, said Capt. Norm Carlton, a Tucson Fire Department spokesman.
"Our thinking is we've got to protect those who protect others," he said. "If we go to a call and a child is suspect for measles and we don't know that but are exposed, then we will spread this with every call we go to after that. So we have to be proactive at dealing with this and putting a stop to it."
Plans also are under way to get the vaccine to the Pima County Sheriff's Department as well as police departments in Marana, Sahuarita, Green Valley and Oro Valley, and to corrections officers at the Pima County jail, said Patti Woodcock, a spokeswoman for the county health department.
More suspected measles cases are being reported from several Tucson-area day-care centers, said Woodcock, though she didn't have an exact number Wednesday afternoon.
"We are investigating those reports now and stepping up efforts to get day-care staff immunized as well," she said.
● Contact reporter Carla McClain at 806-7754 or at cmcclain@azstarnet.com.

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Re: Measles Outbreak in Arizona

Source: http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/85367.php

Published: 05.15.2008
Measles control to cost at least $1 million
HEIDI ROWLEY
Tucson Citizen
Handling the measles outbreak will cost the county at least $1 million, county officials reported to the state.
Pima County Health Department spokeswoman Patti Woodcock said the county submitted a $1 million budget for its costs of fighting the outbreak between mid-April and the end of May. Woodcock said the county won't know until the fall how much the outbreak has cost.
Twenty people in Pima County have been infected since February, when a Swiss tourist visited Northwest Medical Center, exposing staffers and visitors.
To curb the outbreak, the county offered low-cost and then free measles vaccinations.
On May 6, the county Health Department began a free, six-days-a-week clinic at 600 S. Alvernon Way. Between May 6 and 10, 3,100 people were vaccinated. The clinic will continue through May.
Woodcock said that as of Tuesday, 13,000 people had been vaccinated. The county had 6,000 doses on hand when the outbreak began and later received 20,000 doses from the Arizona Department of Health Services, which cost the state $365,000.
State health agency spokesman Michael Murphy said the vaccine was paid for with money from the state vaccines fund.

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Re: Measles Outbreak in Arizona

Source: http://www.kswt.com/Global/story.asp...av=menu613_2_6
Measles outbreak spreads to Pinal County, infant sickened

Associated Press - May 16, 2008 6:54 PM ET

FLORENCE, Ariz. (AP) - Health officials in Pinal County say a measles outbreak in Pima County has now spread north.

Pinal County issued a health advisory Friday saying a 9-month-old child in San Manuel has been diagnosed with the highly contagious disease.

Pima County health officials have been trying to stop the spread of measles since a case first was reported in February. There have been 21 confirmed cases in that county and vaccinations clinics are being held six days a week.

Measles is most severe in infants and children and can cause death in rare cases. It is spread through direct contact and through droplets in the air.

Pinal County officials are now urging parents of children between 6 months and 11 months to make sure their children have been vaccinated.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

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Re: Measles Outbreak in Arizona

Source: http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp...&nav=menu216_3

State sends more money to fight measles outbreak So. Arizona
Associated Press - May 21, 2008 11:04 AM ET

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Arizona has sent an additional $350,000 in emergency funding to Pima and Pinal counties to help combat a measles outbreak.

The money allocated from a special state health crisis fund is on top of $50,000 allocated last month by Gov. Janet Napolitano to help pay for health workers and lab testing.

The new money will help pay for 10,000 vaccine doses and lab tests.

The measles outbreak began in February when an infected Swiss tourist sought medical treatment at a Tucson hospital. Because measles can be spread through the air, hundreds of people were potentially infected.

Since then 21 cases have been confirmed in Pima County, and last week Pinal County reported its first case.

Vaccination clinics are being held in both counties.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

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Re: Measles Outbreak in Arizona

Source: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/116941
May 23, 2008 - 12:06AM

Pinal officials seek to stem measles cases
Jason Massad, Tribune

Health officials say they likely contained a measles case in San Manuel that spilled north into Pinal County from a rare outbreak of the highly contagious disease that began in Tucson.

An infant was diagnosed with measles May 16 by Pinal County officials.

The baby, in San Manuel, is showing no signs of potentially deadly complications from the disease.

Twenty-one people have been diagnosed with the disease in Pima County, an outbreak that began in February.

Officials have contacted 50 people who likely were around the San Manuel baby, according to Tom Schryer, director of Pinal County public health.

Most of those were either already immunized or had a history of and immunity to measles.

One person is showing symptoms, he said. Blood and urine samples were sent to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to verify the potential case.

?It?s looking like it probably isn?t,? Schryer said. ?They?re certainly not showing all the symptoms. We?ll know in the next day or two.?

?As far as Pinal County, we don?t have an outbreak. We have a case that?s coming from that outbreak,? he said.

Pinal County has a lower immunization rate for a range of diseases than Maricopa and Pima counties.

Some 40 percent of Pinal residents have the full range of immunizations, compared with 49 percent in Maricopa County and 44 percent in Pima County, according to 2007 statistics.

Heather Murphy, Pinal County spokeswoman, said Pinal is more susceptible to an outbreak because of that low immunization rate.

?There?s an increased population that?s potentially susceptible,? she said. ?It?s mathematics.?

The measles outbreak could be reaching its end, said Schryer. The outbreak started after an infected Swiss citizen experienced symptoms and went to a Tucson emergency room.

The disease can be spread by sneezing and coughing ? and health officials believe the ER visit was the source of the outbreak.

Since then, Pima health officials have ?ringed? the disease in the same way as the case in San Manuel, by contacting people who may have been around an infected person. The Pima outbreak could be at its tail end, Schryer said.

The county is offering children free vaccinations and recommending parents do so on an accelerated schedule.

Children don?t normally receive a measles vaccine before their first birthday. However, health officials are recommending they be vaccinated at 6 months old and get booster shots 18 months later.

Even though Pinal County has an overall low rate of immunizations, this particular case with the infant is not a result of a missed vaccination, Murphy said.

?The child was not vaccinated and was not part of the population that would be vaccinated,? she said.

Schryer said that another part of the problem in Pinal County is the lack of physicians to care for a booming population. Those in the growing city of Maricopa, for instance, would likely travel to Chandler for the immunizations.

?Your kids absolutely need to be immunized. A lot of people had the measles or the chickenpox growing up and they think that childhood diseases are harmless. The data shows that one out of every 3,000 kids die of the measles.?

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Re: Measles Outbreak in Arizona

Source: http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=8369516&nav=HMO6

Spread of measles continues (Pima County)

For weeks, the Pima County Health Department has been busy dealing with one of the largest measles outbreaks they've ever seen.

Twenty-one cases are currently confirmed, and 3 suspected cases are under investigation.

Since the outbreak, health officials say there have been 366 suspected cases. All of those cases are linked to a single European traveler.

NEWS 4 took a behind the scenes look at how they're handling the ongoing situation.

Employees with the health department meet twice a day to discuss the latest on the measles situation.

Dr. Sanny Chen is with the Centers for Disease Control.

Chen says, "It's very important that we get a lot of information on the rash, where it first appeared, the texture, the color, everything."

If it does meet the case definition, the rash team springs into action.

Dr. Elizabeth MacNeill is part of the team, and showed us what's in her rash kit.

"Emergency equipment, contamination container, history forms, blood drawing equipment for children and adults."

MacNeill adds, "We're actually going to evaluate the person to see if how ill they are, see what the rash looks like, and see if there might be another illness process going on.

Before a team can respond, they must get the call.

At one point the call center at the health department was extremely busy, but the number of people calling in to report suspected cases of the measles, has gone down significantly.

Rod Norrish, an epidemiologist with the health department, says, "This is a new experience for us to be involved in. I'm sure we'll be analyzing this experience in a lot of detail when it's over."

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Re: Measles Outbreak in Arizona

Source: http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/241404

Tucson Region
Months-long measles scare is fading
Next 2 weeks to tell if end is here, says county medical chief
By Carla McClain
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.30.2008

If no new cases show up in the next two weeks, the long measles nightmare will finally be over.
"I'm honestly getting hopeful now, but we are not at the slam-dunk point yet to declare the end of this," said Dr. Michelle McDonald, Pima County's chief medical officer, who has led the fight against this explosively contagious virus.
"We are still getting reports of suspicious cases, but we are able to rule most of those out now. That's very different from the beginning of this outbreak, and a good sign we may be nearing the end."
What started with a winter visit to the Southern Arizona desert by a tourist from Switzerland quickly erupted into one of the nation's largest measles outbreaks in recent years, rapidly climbing to 21 cases, but now holding.
The most recent Tucson case was confirmed almost a month ago, and only two suspect cases remain under active investigation.
The unidentified Swiss woman became sick while here in mid-February and went to Northwest Medical Center's emergency room for care. Like all Tucson ERs at that time, it was packed to overflowing with flu-stricken patients, setting the stage for massive exposure to the measles virus, and an outbreak that cascaded through the community as winter morphed into spring.
"I guess I would say I was honestly surprised how much it took off, but perhaps I shouldn't have been," McDonald said.
"Measles was not on our radar at the time, and there were plenty of alternate explanations for what was making that lady sick. So, the infection was not recognized when she first came in.
"What was so unfortunate was this first case was not diagnosed in a doctor's office, where eight people might have been exposed. Instead, she went to an emergency room and exposed thousands of people. That's where we were so unlucky."
Fortunately, no one has died of measles here, although several victims did suffer complications, including fever-related seizures, pneumonia and many ear infections among children.
Of the 21 victims, nine were adults and 12 were children or infants. Three were sick enough to require hospitalization.
The virus briefly jumped over to neighboring Pinal County, where one infant developed measles earlier this month, bringing the total case count in Arizona to 22. No other counties have been affected.
In the effort to gain control of the outbreak, some 15,000 doses of the MMR vaccine ? the combination measles, mumps and rubella shot ? were given out in the past three months, with the county's free shot clinics due to wind up this weekend.
The total cost of battling this disease is nearing $1 million, including efforts at both the state and federal level.
That cost has been partially offset by some $400,000 released to Pima County from the state heath-crisis fund.
The date for declaring the outbreak over is June 13, two full incubation periods from the last confirmed infection.
"The assumption is that because of the all-out effort made by the health-care community, the likelihood that we're missing any cases is exceedingly low," McDonald said. "There is still all kinds of surveillance activity going on ? we're still looking ? but I think we now have a good idea of the true extent of this."
However, if any of the suspect cases turn out to be actual measles, the "it's over" date will be reset, she cautioned.
"When it finally does end, I can say we've learned a whole lot about the importance of isolation practices whenever there is a suspicion of a contagious disease, and how important it is to have all health-care workers immunized and protected," she said.
Although laboratory results strongly suggest that all 21 Pima County cases were linked to the "index patient" ? the Swiss tourist ? that is not an absolute certainty.
"There is a small possibility one or more cases originated from some other exposure ? we certainly have people traveling to countries with low vaccination rates. But we have not found evidence of another route of importation of this disease," McDonald said.
Almost all of the current measles outbreaks in the United States ? numbering four to six now ? started with exposures in countries with low vaccination rates. The virus was either brought here by citizens from those countries, or by Americans who visited there.
Measles vaccination rates have dropped off sharply in Europe, Britain and Japan because of fears of autism linked to the MMR vaccine.
● Contact reporter Carla McClain at 806-7754 or at cmcclain@azstarnet.com.