Latest measles outbreak tied to lack of vaccinations

ATLANTA — From Jan. 1 to Feb. 6, 2015, 121 people from 17 states and Washington D.C. were reported to have measles, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. Most of these cases (85%) are part of a large, ongoing multi-state outbreak linked to an amusement park in California.

 

That outbreak likely started from a traveler who became infected overseas with measles, then visited the Disneyland amusement park while infectious, according to the CDC. However, no source has been identified.

 

"Based on what we know now, we're seeing more adults than we have seen in a typical outbreak. [But] children are also getting measles," said Anne Schuchat, the assistant surgeon general, United States Public Health Service and director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases during a recent CDC telebriefing on measles. "The majority of the adults and children that are reported to us for which we have information did not get vaccinated or don't know whether they have been vaccinated.  This is not a problem with the measles vaccine not working. This is a problem of the measles vaccine not being used," she said. 

 

"One-in-12 children in the United States is not receiving their first dose of MMR on time," Schuchat added. "That makes them vulnerable to get measles and spread measles. [As many as] 95% of children are recommended to have received the measles vaccine on time. Seventeen states have less than 90% of children having received at least one dose."  

 

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. This is the greatest number of cases since measles elimination was documented in the U.S. in 2000. The U.S. experienced 23 measles outbreaks in 2014, including one large outbreak of 383 cases, occurring primarily among unvaccinated Amish communities in Ohio. Many of the cases in the U.S. in 2014 were associated with cases brought in from the Philippines, which experienced a large measles outbreak. 

 

Analysis by CDC scientists shows that the measles virus in this outbreak is identical to the virus type that caused the large measles outbreak in the Philippines in 2014 . However, the same virus type has been identified within the past six months in 14 other countries and at least six U.S. states not associated with the current outbreak.

 

On Jan. 23, 2015, CDC issued a Health Advisory to notify public health departments and healthcare facilities about this multi-state outbreak and to provide guidance for healthcare providers nationwide.