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Cynthia Reading

More than 70 cases of measles in 10 states, including seven in Wisconsin, since Jan. 1. Federal health officials say 2008 tally could be worst in years. "We're in a very different era where doctors, nurses and parents aren't familiar with the disease," official says. Since 2000, one in every 250 Americans who got the disease died.

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Cynthia Reading

More than 70 cases of measles in 10 states, including seven in Wisconsin, since Jan. 1. Federal health officials say 2008 tally could be worst in years. "We're in a very different era where doctors, nurses and parents aren't familiar with the disease," official says. Since 2000, one in every 250 Americans who got the disease died.

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Bea Kasilag
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SUSANNE RUST, and MEG KISSINGER.

"Measles outbreak is national; With more


than 70 cases in 10 states, 2008 tally could be worst in years; health care providers often
lack familiarity with once-corralled disease. " Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 2 May 2008,
ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. 25 Aug. 2010.

Abstract (Summary)
Health officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday
confirmed more than 70 cases of measles in 10 states, including seven in Wisconsin,
since Jan. 1. "It's once again important for people to check their vaccine status, otherwise
they're putting vulnerable people like pregnant women and babies at risk," said Geoffrey
Swain, the medical director and chief medical officer for the Milwaukee Health
Department.

Full Text
(831 words)
Copyright Journal Sentinel Inc. May 2, 2008

A measles outbreak in Milwaukee is part of a national epidemic that federal health


officials said Thursday they fear will be the worst in years.

"We're in a very different era where doctors, nurses and parents are not familiar with the
measles," said Anne Schuchat, the director of the National Center for Immunization and
Respiratory Diseases.

Health officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday
confirmed more than 70 cases of measles in 10 states, including seven in Wisconsin,
since Jan. 1.

The disease -- which is completely preventable through vaccination -- can lead to


pneumonia, encephalitis and death. It is most dangerous to the very young, the very old
and people with compromised immune systems, such as chemotherapy patients.

While no one has died in this latest outbreak, 20% were hospitalized. An outbreak in
Milwaukee in 1989-'90 killed five children.

Since 2000, one in every 250 Americans who got the disease died.

Federal health officials declared that measles had been eliminated from the United States
in 2000. However, without requirements for people coming into the country to be
immunized, its presence couldn't be stopped.
Schuchat said three factors were contributing to the spike in cases -- importation of the
disease from countries such as Switzerland and Israel; inadequate safeguards in health
care settings; and growing pockets of parents who choose not to immunize their children.

In the last 10 years, the number of parents in Wisconsin opting out of having their
children immunized because of personal convictions has tripled, from 1% of the
population to 3%. Waivers for religious or medical reasons have remained steady during
this period.

Outbreaks rare

In this latest outbreak, two-thirds of children between 16 months and 19 years old had not
been immunized because of religious or personal beliefs. Thirteen children were too
young to be vaccinated.

"Unfortunately, babies too young to be immunized count on others around them to be


immunized," said Jane Seward, deputy director of the division of viral diseases at the
Immunization Center.

For measles, mumps and rubella, health officials recommend that children receive their
first measles vaccination between 12 months and 15 months of age. A second is
recommended between the ages of 4 and 5.

This combination provides 99% immunity to the disease.

"It's once again important for people to check their vaccine status, otherwise they're
putting vulnerable people like pregnant women and babies at risk," said Geoffrey Swain,
the medical director and chief medical officer for the Milwaukee Health Department.

Only one adult, in this latest outbreak, had documentation showing that he or she had
received two doses of MMR -- the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination.

The virus that causes measles spreads easily and rapidly through the air from coughing
and sneezing. Symptoms are cold-like, followed by a red, blotchy rash that first appears
at the hairline and then proceeds down the trunk to the arms and legs.

Although rare because of immunizations, measles outbreaks can occur. It takes an


average of 10 to 12 days from exposure to the first symptom, which is usually fever. The
measles rash doesn't usually appear until about 14 days after exposure, and two to three
days after the fever begins.

Measles is one of the most contagious airborne diseases.

"It's able to find the one un-immunized person in the room," Schuchat said.
In the latest outbreak, health officials have determined that nearly all confirmed cases
were linked to people traveling abroad.

According to Schuchat, Europe is undergoing a widespread outbreak. More than 2,000


people are infected in Switzerland, and more than 1,000 in Israel.

She also said the health care settings are unprepared for measles patients. A growing
number of doctors and nurses have never seen a measles case. Therefore, the disease is
often not recognized in patients immediately. This makes anyone in a doctor's office or
emergency room vulnerable to the disease.

Thirty years ago, doctors and nurses "isolated people as they came into health care
settings," Schuchat said.

The disease is also long-lived.

Schuchat said the disease can be spread from a person coughing or sneezing, and the
germs will stay in the environment for several hours.

The first case in Wisconsin was reported on April 4 involving a 23-month-old girl who
had been hospitalized at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. The girl had been immunized
for other childhood illnesses, but not the measles.

A new case was reported Wednesday from Verona County. The largest outbreaks in the
country are occurring in Arizona, New York and California.

Eight new cases were confirmed in Washington state. Those cases stemmed from an
international church conference in suburban Seattle in March, according to the state
health department.

TO FIND OUT MORE

Go to the Milwaukee Health Department Web site: www.milwaukee.gov/health

Or call the Health Department's Measles Information Hotline: (414) 286-3616

Copyright 2008, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not
apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or
other media.)

Indexing (document details)


Subjects: Respiratory diseases, Vaccines, Immunization, Disease control,
Health care
Author(s): SUSANNE RUST, MEG KISSINGER
Document News
types:
Section: News
Publication Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee, Wis.: May 2, 2008. pg. A.1
title:
Source type: Newspaper
ISSN: 10828850
ProQuest 1472037401
document ID:
Text Word 831
Count
Document http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?
URL: did=1472037401&Fmt=3&clientId=63315&RQT=309&VName=PQD
Copyright © 2010 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. Terms & Conditions

Please do not reply directly to this email. Use the following link to contact ProQuest :
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