Can the US measles outbreak be stopped?

Is the United States With its worst year for measles over more than three decades, with more than 1,300 cases in 40 states from July 16. The cases were almost high in 2019 and endangered the state of its measles. Six years ago, health officials were able to prevent expansion. But among the growth of public reactions to vaccines, many of the tactics used at that time may not work now.

Eliminating measles means that there is no more than 12 months in a country in a country. It happened almost in the outbreak of 2019, which greatly affected the population of Orthodox Jews in New York City and some surrounding areas. In the fall of 2018, American travelers returning from Israel tested positive measles. The disease spread rapidly in close societies, especially among children due to the low levels of vaccination. While measles vaccination across the country for children at school age was 98 % in school year, vaccination in schools in the area was only 77 %. Since measles are very contagious, 95 % vaccination is needed to protect a community against the disease.

As a result, most of the measles occurred in individuals 18 and the following, of which approximately 86 % were non -vaccinated. Some of them have caused severe complications, including the pneumonia, and about 8 % were hospitalized.

This current increase begins due to the prevalence of its outbreak in a community -covered community in West Texas. Cases have been expanded in other areas of Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Two children in Texas died of measles without basic conditions and an adult in New Mexico this year. Everyone was vaccinated.

“There is definitely parallel,” said Neil Wura, the chief executive of the epidemic in the source coalition and previously a medical epidemiologist at the Disease and Prevention Centers that helped respond to 2019.

Finally, after a month of effort in New York, which included traditional public health approaches and local and state -of -the -art policy change, New York was burned in New York.

“You have to take the first case seriously, because it is like Kindling,” says Oxiris Barbot, current President and CEO of the United Hospital Fund, who worked as a New York Health Commissioner from 2018 to 2020.

As the disease spread, Barbot found that the City Health Department should be transmitted, mainly Orthodox Jewish schools in affected neighborhoods. In collaboration with school principals, they examined vaccination records to identify non -vaccinated or low -vaccine children. After exposure, these children were banned from attending school and child care for 21 days, incubation for measles. Similar measures were taken in some areas outside the city.

“It took a lot of time to employees, a lot of work on the feet,” Barbot says. At a school, a contagious child led to more than 25 infections in other students and spread more outside the school. He says the Health Department “strongly” was involved in ensuring that schools are following quarantine actions. “