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'World's most contagious disease' spreads through US state as more than 100 kids feared exposed in this city
The "world’s most contagious disease" is spreading through a US state after more than 100 children were feared to have been exposed in a single city.
Health officials in California raised the alarm after an unvaccinated child attended an educational enrichment program in Sacramento County while infectious.
Public health authorities say as many as 130 children may have been exposed to measles as a result.
The enrichment program has reportedly temporarily closed its facility following the incident.
"Measles, one of the most contagious infections, can lead to severe life-long consequences including permanent brain damage and can also be fatal, especially for children," Dr. Erica Pan, CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer, said in a March 6 release.
"The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is safe and provides long-lasting protection against measles. Vaccination protects both our own families and those who are too young to be fully vaccinated," Pan added.
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Several Confirmed Cases Already Reported
Since late February, at least six measles cases have been confirmed across Sacramento County and neighboring Placer County.
The situation has also affected a local hospital. One of the infected children was treated at Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center on the morning of March 2.
As a result, the hospital has been forced to track down every patient and staff member who may have been in the facility during that time window.
Nationwide Surge In Measles Cases
The Sacramento scare comes as measles cases climb rapidly across the United States.
Last month, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the US has recorded more than 1,100 measles cases so far this year.
The number of cases reported in the first eight weeks of the year - 1,136 as of February 26 - is already six times more than typical for an entire year, per CNN.
A tracker from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Outbreak Response Innovation has calculated an even higher annual case total than the CDC.
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said the current US trajectory of measles cases is "disappointing and depressing and ominous," because a safe and highly effective vaccine is available to protect against measles.
"Measles is a fierce infection, and we should be preventing it," he continued. "It can strike any healthy, normal child in its most severe fashion."
Health officials say most measles infections this year have occurred in people who were not vaccinated.
About 96% of cases reported in the United States so far this year have been among people who have not been vaccinated with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine or who have not received both recommended doses.
More than 80% of cases have been among children and teenagers, with roughly one in four cases involving children under the age of five.
Per the CDC, the disease can have devastating complications. Of every 1,000 children infected with measles, one may develop encephalitis, a serious swelling of the brain. Up to three out of every 1,000 infected children will die.
Experts Warn Deaths Could Rise
Last year alone, the US reported nearly 2,300 measles cases - the highest number in a single year since 1991 and far more than any year since measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000.
Three people died from measles last year: two children in Texas and one adult in New Mexico, all of whom were unvaccinated.
"That’s in that range of one to three deaths per 1,000 (cases). So, can we expect another death? Yes, I think we’re getting there where we can expect another death," Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious disease physician and director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said. “And it is unconscionable.”
"When more people are choosing not to vaccinate their children, you’re going to see more disease, more suffering, more hospitalization, and more death.
"Children are dying from a vaccine-preventable disease because their parents are choosing not to vaccinate them, and they’re choosing not to vaccinate them because they fear the vaccine more than they fear the disease," he added.
Healthcare providers in affected areas have begun enforcing additional safety measures. Earlier this month, Prisma Health, a large healthcare system in South Carolina, introduced a new masking policy for patients and visitors in emergency departments and labor and delivery units.
The measures are designed to "reduce the risk of transmission and ensure a safe environment for patients, visitors and team members," Prisma Health said in a news release.
Experts have also stressed that measles infections can affect anyone unvaccinated, including adults.
"Anyone who is susceptible (from being unvaccinated) can become infected and get measles," Schaffner said. "The older you are when you acquire the measles infection, the more likely it is to be severe, and this is particularly true for pneumonia.
"Measles is a nasty virus," he continued. "Speak to your own doctor - the doctor that is caring for your child day in and day out – please have these discussions with that doctor and listen very carefully.
"I can do everything I can to try to reassure parents and make them comfortable with the notion of their children receiving the measles vaccine and other vaccines, but please talk to your own doctor," Schaffner added.