Philadelphia Measles Outbreak Includes Daycare Exposure After Parents Didn’t Follow Quarantine Rules

A measles outbreak is unfolding in the Philadelphia area after at least 8 people were confirmed to have been diagnosed with the highly contagious virus.

NBC News reports that the outbreak began when the child — who had spent some time out of the country — was admitted to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) with the infection. Doctors eventually determined that it was measles. According to the World Health Organization, measles spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or rains. It can affect anyone, but is most common in children. Symptoms may include high fever, cough, runny nose and a rash all over the body.

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health did not confirm to NBC News where the child contracted the illness.

A nurse in medical gloves gives an injection to a small patient.

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While at the hospital, the outlet said the child spread the disease to three other patients, including the parent and child, who were there for other medical reasons.

The child who contracted measles in the hospital had yet to be vaccinated. Their parent was also unvaccinated. The adult was offered medication for unvaccinated adults to prevent post-exposure illness, but reportedly refused.

Things got worse when the parent ignored Philadelphia Department of Public Health quarantine rules that recommend anyone who may have been exposed to measles stay home and away from others.

Instead, on December 20 and 21, they sent the child to kindergarten. There, measles spread to four more people. The health department told NBC News that none of the people diagnosed with the virus were immune to measles, meaning they had never received the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine or had previously been infected with measles.

Doug Thompson, chief medical officer at St. John’s Children’s Hospital. Christopher in Philadelphia, said the hospital has received 3 patients between the ages of 1 and 2 since the current outbreak. He added that none of them had been vaccinated.

“With those who have had a rash, we’ve certainly been at the highest level of caution, but we’re asking everyone about the exposure of people with measles,” he said.

Photo of a young girl lying in a hospital bed.

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A press release from the city of Philadelphia said the city is currently working to identify anyone who may have been exposed, verify their vaccine status, alert them that they may have been exposed, and issue quarantine and exclusion recommendations if necessary.

They add that while Philadelphia has high vaccination rates, with at least 93% of children fully vaccinated by age 6, about 90% of people who have been in close contact with an infected person will get measles if they are not vaccinated.

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The number of measles deaths has almost doubled worldwide due to lack of vaccination during the pandemic

Photo of a bottle of measles vaccine.

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According to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization in November 2023, the measles crisis remains a prevalent problem.

A joint report released by the agencies on Friday reported an 18 percent increase in measles cases and a 43 percent increase in measles deaths from 2021 to 2022. A drop in the number of available vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic was attributed as a contributing factor.

“In 2022, measles vaccination coverage and global surveillance showed some recovery from the failure of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, coverage declined in low-income countries, and globally, years of suboptimal immunization coverage left millions of children unprotected,” it said. report.

As the number of measles cases globally increased from 7,802,000 to 9,232,300, the number of countries experiencing devastating outbreaks also increased from 22 to 37. Deaths from the disease rose to 136,200 in 2022. Agencies estimated that 57 million measles deaths averted by vaccination from 2000 to 2022.

“The increase in measles outbreaks and deaths is incredible, but unfortunately not unexpected given the decline in vaccination rates we’ve seen in recent years,” John Vertefeuille, director of the CDC’s Division of Global Immunization, said in a news release. “Measles cases anywhere pose a risk to all countries and communities where people are under-vaccinated. Urgent, targeted efforts are essential to prevent illness and death from measles.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education