Philadelphia’s measles epidemic is growing.This week, health officials declare A new case of the highly contagious viral disease has been detected in the region, the ninth reported so far. Many of the cases, including the latest, have been traced to a day care center, and most, if not all, patients had not been vaccinated against measles.
This outbreak seems to be Beginning in early December at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. An infant was admitted with a fever; two days later, the infant developed a measles-related rash. However, by the time the baby contracted measles, the infection had spread to two other nearby children and later to an adult.
The infant had recently traveled to a country where measles is endemic, and all of the resulting cases occurred in unvaccinated individuals. One of the babies was too young and had not yet been vaccinated (the first of two doses is recommended at 12 to 15 months of age). According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the older child’s family deliberately avoided vaccination against measles, and the parents refused aggressive treatment that might have prevented infection after exposure; one of the parents subsequently contracted measles.
Health officials are asking people who are infected or may have been exposed to measles to go to a hospital until the risk of further spread has passed. However, they later learned that one of the families refused to comply and sent the infected child to the Philadelphia Multicultural Education Station day care center. The child then started a new chain of infection.
The latest case, announced by health officials on Tuesday, is the fifth reported to be linked to the daycare and the ninth recently reported. Officials have not provided further details about the new case, including the person’s current medical condition, age or vaccination status. Of the eight previous cases, all were unvaccinated, and six were hospitalized but later discharged.Another case was discovered in neighboring New Jersey Camden County Last week, the virus appeared to be unlinked to other viruses, raising concerns about possible further outbreaks.
The measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is very effective in preventing measles infection. In 2000, with the help of a routine childhood vaccination program, measles was successfully eliminated in the United States. To date, national vaccination coverage with the MMR vaccine remains high. But measles remains common in many parts of the world, and cases are occasionally imported into the United States from elsewhere. Because this highly contagious virus spreads easily among vulnerable populations, outbreaks can still occur in less vaccinated communities.
Declining vaccination rates around the world have led to a resurgence of measles in places where it had declined.Even the United States is facing very real possibility The disease is once again a local threat. Measles is not particularly fatal, but it can be more life-threatening in young children.Other serious complications include Pneumonia, encephalitis, and possible loss of immunity to other infectious diseases. 2022, An estimated 136,000 people According to the World Health Organization, the number of people dying from measles worldwide increased by 43% from the previous year.
MMR vaccination coverage in Philadelphia is about 93%, which should prevent these outbreaks from posing a danger to the public. But city health officials have begun hosting free vaccination events in response to the outbreak.
