Spring Travel Creates Additional Measles Risk
Current Measles Stats
The United States is currently dealing with multiple measles outbreaks, including an outbreak in Ocean County as well as Brooklyn and New York’s Rockland County. As of April 11, 555 cases have been reported in 20 states – the second-greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since measles was eliminated in 2000.
Preparing for Spring Travel Season
The Passover holiday begins the evening of Friday, April 19 and ends the evening of Saturday, April 27. This year, Passover coincides with Easter which is on Sunday, April 21. In addition, many other social events may be scheduled over the next several months (e.g., graduations, weddings). All of these celebrations provide opportunities for measles to spread as people travel and congregate away from home. Measles cases are surging globally with large outbreaks reported in the Philippines, Israel, Ukraine and other countries. Patients and their families who are traveling internationally should be up to date on their MMR immunization.
What You Must Do
- Ensure all patients are up to date on MMR vaccine.
- Consider measles in patients presenting with febrile rash illness and clinically compatible measles symptoms (cough, runny nose, and conjunctivitis). Patients exposed to measles while traveling during the Passover and Easter holiday could begin to develop symptoms between late April and mid-May.
- Ask patients about recent travel internationally or to domestic venues frequented by international travelers, as well as a history of measles exposures in their communities.
- Promptly isolate patients with suspected measles to avoid disease spread and immediately report the suspect measles case to the health department.
- Obtain specimens for testing from patients with suspected measles, including viral specimens for genotyping, which can help determine the source of the virus. Contact the local health department with questions about submitting specimens for testing.
