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Source: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-persp...s-nears-record
US measles total grows by 71 cases, nears record
Filed Under:
Measles; Childhood Vaccines
Lisa Schnirring | News Editor | CIDRAP News
| Apr 22, 2019
The US measles total climbed by 71 cases last week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in an update, putting the year's total at 626, within striking distance of the most cases since the United States officially eliminated the disease in 2000.
With weekly measles numbers continuing to grow at a steady clip, a top Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official today released a statement affirming the agency's continued confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Peter Marks, MD, PhD, who directs the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said the MMR vaccine has been approved in the United States for nearly 50 years, and its use has cut measles and mumps cases by 99%, with large, well-designed studies confirming the vaccine's safety and effectiveness and ruling out a link to autism.
With multiple measles outbreaks and as National Infant Immunization Week approaches, "We want to underscore our continued confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines that are highly successful at preventing?in some cases, nearly eradicating?preventable diseases," Marks said.
Cases just short of 2014 record
According to today's CDC, the 626 total is 41 cases shy of reaching the 667 reported in 2014, currently the record for the post-elimination period.
Tennessee became the latest state to report a case, and with a recent measles illness recorded in Iowa, the number of affected states has grown by 2, to reach 22. On Apr 18 the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) announced that it had confirmed and is investigating its first measles case of 2019, which involves a resident in the eastern part of the state.
Tim Jones, MD, Tennessee's state epidemiologist, said in the statement that response efforts are focused on preventing the spread of the disease. "This appearance of measles is a reminder about the importance of vaccines and how they can particularly protect our most vulnerable, including infants and those with compromised immune systems."
The number of outbreaks?defined as three or more epidemiologically related cases?that the CDC is tracking remained at six, and some of the rise in new cases reflects new totals in those outbreaks.
For example, in an outbreak centered in New York's Rockland County, officials reported 13 more cases that lift the outbreak total to 199. And in Michigan, an outbreak that began in the middle of March now stands at 43 confirmed cases as of Apr 17.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) said the event involves 40 cases in Oakland County, 1 in Wayne County, and 1 in Detroit. It also notes that that measles was diagnosed in an international traveler who visited Washtenaw County when he was contagious.
Michigan's measles cases mainly involve adults, but sick patients range in age from 8 months to 63 years.
Hospitalized Israeli flight attendant
In global measles developments, Israeli health officials said last week that a 43-year-old woman working as a flight attendant is in a coma after contracting measles and developing encephalitis, a potentially deadly complication marked by inflammation of the brain, according an Apr 17 CNN report.
The flight attendant works for El Al, Israel's national airline, and may have been exposed to measles in New York, in Israel, or on a flight connecting the two locations, Itamar Grotto, MD, PhD, MPH, associate director general for Israel's health ministry, told CNN. The woman is in the intensive care unit at Meir Medical Center near Tel Aviv.
Her symptoms began with a fever on Mar 31, and she was hospitalized the same day, according to the CNN report, which also quoted authorities as saying they believed she was vaccinated as a child.
Twelve PAHO nations reporting cases
In its latest update on measles, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said 12 countries in the Americas region have reported measles cases this year, the same number as for all of 2018. The countries are Argentina, the Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, the United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
For 2019, Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela continue to report cases linked to the same genotype and lineage, marking continued circulation of the virus. Measles infections in the other nine countries reflect imported cases from outside of the region involving different genotypes.
See also:
Apr 22 CDC update
Apr 22 FDA statement
Apr 18 TDH press release
Apr 17 MDHHS outbreak information
Apr 17 CNN story
Apr 18 PAHO update
US measles total grows by 71 cases, nears record
Filed Under:
Measles; Childhood Vaccines
Lisa Schnirring | News Editor | CIDRAP News
| Apr 22, 2019
The US measles total climbed by 71 cases last week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in an update, putting the year's total at 626, within striking distance of the most cases since the United States officially eliminated the disease in 2000.
With weekly measles numbers continuing to grow at a steady clip, a top Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official today released a statement affirming the agency's continued confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Peter Marks, MD, PhD, who directs the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said the MMR vaccine has been approved in the United States for nearly 50 years, and its use has cut measles and mumps cases by 99%, with large, well-designed studies confirming the vaccine's safety and effectiveness and ruling out a link to autism.
With multiple measles outbreaks and as National Infant Immunization Week approaches, "We want to underscore our continued confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines that are highly successful at preventing?in some cases, nearly eradicating?preventable diseases," Marks said.
Cases just short of 2014 record
According to today's CDC, the 626 total is 41 cases shy of reaching the 667 reported in 2014, currently the record for the post-elimination period.
Tennessee became the latest state to report a case, and with a recent measles illness recorded in Iowa, the number of affected states has grown by 2, to reach 22. On Apr 18 the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) announced that it had confirmed and is investigating its first measles case of 2019, which involves a resident in the eastern part of the state.
Tim Jones, MD, Tennessee's state epidemiologist, said in the statement that response efforts are focused on preventing the spread of the disease. "This appearance of measles is a reminder about the importance of vaccines and how they can particularly protect our most vulnerable, including infants and those with compromised immune systems."
The number of outbreaks?defined as three or more epidemiologically related cases?that the CDC is tracking remained at six, and some of the rise in new cases reflects new totals in those outbreaks.
For example, in an outbreak centered in New York's Rockland County, officials reported 13 more cases that lift the outbreak total to 199. And in Michigan, an outbreak that began in the middle of March now stands at 43 confirmed cases as of Apr 17.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) said the event involves 40 cases in Oakland County, 1 in Wayne County, and 1 in Detroit. It also notes that that measles was diagnosed in an international traveler who visited Washtenaw County when he was contagious.
Michigan's measles cases mainly involve adults, but sick patients range in age from 8 months to 63 years.
Hospitalized Israeli flight attendant
In global measles developments, Israeli health officials said last week that a 43-year-old woman working as a flight attendant is in a coma after contracting measles and developing encephalitis, a potentially deadly complication marked by inflammation of the brain, according an Apr 17 CNN report.
The flight attendant works for El Al, Israel's national airline, and may have been exposed to measles in New York, in Israel, or on a flight connecting the two locations, Itamar Grotto, MD, PhD, MPH, associate director general for Israel's health ministry, told CNN. The woman is in the intensive care unit at Meir Medical Center near Tel Aviv.
Her symptoms began with a fever on Mar 31, and she was hospitalized the same day, according to the CNN report, which also quoted authorities as saying they believed she was vaccinated as a child.
Twelve PAHO nations reporting cases
In its latest update on measles, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said 12 countries in the Americas region have reported measles cases this year, the same number as for all of 2018. The countries are Argentina, the Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, the United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
For 2019, Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela continue to report cases linked to the same genotype and lineage, marking continued circulation of the virus. Measles infections in the other nine countries reflect imported cases from outside of the region involving different genotypes.
See also:
Apr 22 CDC update
Apr 22 FDA statement
Apr 18 TDH press release
Apr 17 MDHHS outbreak information
Apr 17 CNN story
Apr 18 PAHO update