MN: 2022 Measles

[Shiloh]

Source: https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-ne...-in-minnesota-following-international-travel/

MDH: Measles outbreak in unvaccinated children in Minnesota following international travel
Ashley Halbach KSTP
September 26, 2022 - 6:00 PM

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) said Monday that the state has a measles outbreak.

The department said it has identified 12 cases of international travel-related measles in unvaccinated children since June.

Minnesota right now has half of all measles cases in the United States.

MDH is advising parents to watch for symptoms of measles in their child, especially if returning from international travel...

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://outbreaknewstoday.com/minnesota-reports-additional-measles-cases-29231/


Minnesota reports additional measles cases
by Press Release
October 19, 2022

In a follow-up on the measles increase reported in Minnesota, health officials report additional cases of laboratory-confirmed measles have been identified by PCR testing at the Minnesota Department of Health Public Health Laboratory.

The most recent cases are in 2 children who are residents of Ramsey County and who had contact with a family who recently returned from a country where measles is endemic. Both were unvaccinated....

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-news/mdh-measles-case-count-in-the-metro-now-at-21/


MDH: Measles case count in the metro now at 21
By KSTP
Updated: 2 hours ago
Published: October 27, 2022 - 1:46 PM

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has confirmed the number of measles cases in the metro area has risen.

According to an update from MDH Thursday, there have been 21 confirmed cases of measles reported in metro counties since June; some of those individuals required hospitalization.

Exposures mainly occurred in school, child care and health care settings in Ramsey and Hennepin counties, according to MDH.

MDH reports most were exposed to measles through international travel to countries where measles is endemic...

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://sahanjournal.com/health/measles-mmr-vaccine-minnesota-department-of-health-outreach-somali/

Somali families and Minnesota health officials confront low vaccination rates–and a cluster of measles cases
The Minnesota Department of Health believes 14 unvaccinated children were infected while traveling, likely to Somalia, Kenya, and Denmark. They infected eight other children in Minnesota.
Avatar photo
by Sheila Mulrooney Eldred December 7, 2022

Before physician assistant Mohamed Adan can start explaining the importance of the measles vaccine, parents tell him they don’t want their child receiving the shot.

Mistrust of the vaccine among many Somali community members goes back many years, setting the stage for measles to reach Minnesota’s East African community this fall. Low vaccination rates combined with travel to countries where the disease is endemic led to 14 unvaccinated children contracting measles while traveling abroad. The children likely caught the disease in Somalia, Kenya, or Denmark, according to data Sahan Journal requested from the Minnesota Department of Health.

“I have a son who’s 8, and I explain to them that I gave it to my kid and he’s fine,” said Mohamed, who works with many Somali families at Axis Medical Center. “But word-of-mouth between families is stronger than what we say.”

The 14 measles infections in Minnesota spread to eight additional unvaccinated children in the state, leading to 22 total infections. At least nine of the children were hospitalized. All have since been discharged from the hospital.

Of the 22 cases, 21 were among non-Hispanic Black patients and the race of one is unknown, according to the state health department. The state doesn’t track measles infections by specific ethnic communities, but health department officials and staff say that they have directed measles vaccination outreach efforts toward the Somali community. The outbreak poses a delicate balancing act for state health officials as they work with the Somali community while trying to avoid stigmatizing any one group....