Measles hits New York
February 2
By now, you have likely heard about the measles outbreak. This started at Disneyland and has now spread to 14 states. The case in New York was a college student who recently traveled on Amtrak from New York to Albany. We will describe Measles below, but we also wanted to alert you to some activities we are taking to be proactive. If you are web enabled you will receive a message if the following applies to your child:
Patients who are 12 to 14 months may receive an MMR vaccine by scheduling a Nurse Visit, instead of waiting until the 15 month visit.
Patients who are 15 months and older who have not had an MMR vaccine and do not have a well visit within a week, should schedule a nurse visit within ONE week.
Patients who are 4 years of age and older, who have not had 2 vaccinations should schedule a nurse visit within ONE week.
Please note that Four Seasons Pediatrics has a vaccine policy which requires up to date vaccinations for diseases that can be spread within the practice waiting room. Upon identification and notification about the need for vaccination for Measles or Pertussis (also in the midst of an outbreak), we will require vaccination within 7 days. Failure to comply will result in discharge from the practice. This policy stems from our best intention to protect individual children and children who visit the waiting room whether for a well visit or a sick visit.
Current Measles Outbreak
From January 1 to January 30, 2015, 102 people from 14 states were reported to have measles*. Most of these cases are part of a large, ongoing multi-state outbreak linked to an amusement park in California. On January 23, 2015, CDC issued a Health Advisory to notify public health departments and healthcare facilities about this multi-state outbreak.
The United States experienced a record number of measles cases during 2014, with 644 cases from 27 states reported to CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). This is the greatest number of cases since measles elimination was documented in the U.S. in 2000.
- The majority of the people who got measles were unvaccinated.
- Measles is still common in many parts of the world including some countries in Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and Africa.
- Travelers with measles continue to bring the disease into the U.S.
- Measles can spread when it reaches a community in the U.S. where groups of people are unvaccinated.
Signs and Symptoms
The symptoms of measles generally appear about seven to 14 days after a person is infected.
Measles typically begins with
- high fever,
- cough,
- runny nose (coryza), and
- red, watery eyes (conjunctivitis).
Two or three days after symptoms begin, tiny white spots (Koplik spots) may appear inside the mouth.
Three to five days after symptoms begin, a rash breaks out. It usually begins as flat red spots that appear on the face at the hairline and spread downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs, and feet. Small raised bumps may also appear on top of the flat red spots. The spots may become joined together as they spread from the head to the rest of the body. When the rash appears, a person’s fever may spike to more than 104° Fahrenheit.
After a few days, the fever subsides and the rash fades.
Transmission of Measles
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