By Mary Drier
Staff Writer
TUSCOLA COUNTY — A childhood illness is making a comeback.
“We are seeing a resurgence of measles in the United States. The health department has been advocating clients and parents to get their children vaccinated for measles,” said Tuscola County Health Department Health Officer Gretchen Tenbusch in a report to the county commissioners.
On May 29, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported there were 288 cases of measles reported in the United States between Jan. 1 and May 23, which is the largest number of measles cases reported in the first five months of a year since 1994.
“The current increase in measles cases is being driven by unvaccinated people, primarily U.S. residents, who got measles in other countries, brought the virus back to the United States and spread to others in communities where many people are not vaccinated,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, assistant surgeon general and director of CDC’s National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases in a press release. “Many of the clusters in the U.S. began following travel to the Philippines where a large outbreak has been occurring since October 2013.”
The CDC noted the large number of measles cases stresses the importance of vaccination, and that healthcare providers should stress the importance of keeping up to date on vaccinations; especially, before international travel.
Even in Tuscola County the percentage of residents who are up to date on vaccinations isn’t 100 percent.
“The immunization rate of measles in Tuscola County for children under five years of age is 85 percent, and for age five and over is 89 percent,” said Tenbusch. “While this is good coverage, we would like to see the other children receive their measles vaccination as well.”
Measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000, meaning that there was no longer continuous measles transmission for more than 12 months, so some healthcare providers have never seen an active case. So more than ever health care providers need to be alert to the possibility of measles and be familiar with the signs and symptoms so they can detect cases early.
“Many U.S. health care providers have never seen or treated a patient with measles because of the nation’s robust vaccination efforts and our rapid response to outbreaks,” said Schuchat.
Patients who present with fever and rash along with cough, runny nose, or pink eye should be evaluated for measles; especially, if the patient is unvaccinated and recently traveled internationally or was exposed to someone else who has measles or recently traveled.
The CDC recommends if healthcare providers suspect a patient with measles, they should immediately isolate the patient to help prevent the disease from spreading, immediately report the case to their local health department and collect specimens for serology and viral testing.
Timely vaccination is the best way to prevent measles. Infants and young children are at high risk of getting a serious case of measles. CDC recommends two doses of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine for everyone starting at age 12 months. For those traveling internationally, CDC recommends that all U.S. residents older than 6 months receive MMR vaccine, if needed, prior to departure.
Worldwide, an estimated 20 million people get measles and 122,000 die from the disease each year, noted the CDC report.
Mary Drier is a staff writer for the Tuscola County Advertiser. She can be reached at drier@tcadvertiser.com.