Measles
2009

Mother's Measles Vaccination Plea
BBC News (UK)
July 12, 2009
"Gary Bridges and Billy-Jean Nicholson, from Newton Aycliffe, developed serious complications after contracting the highly- contagious illness. Now their mother Lisa has urged parents to take up the MMR vaccine to avoid the 'living hell' she went through. The North East is in the grip of the worst measles outbreak in 20 years. In recent weeks more than 100 measles cases have been confirmed and at least 100 more are being investigated. Ms Nicholson said neither of her children had been immunised as babies because of concerns over the safety of the MMR vaccine..."

Health Department Issues Measles Warning
Queens Tribune (NY)
July 9, 2009
"The New York City Health Department issued a warning to doctors and city residents to be cautious of measles, after identifying 11 infection cases of the virus in Brooklyn. The DOH is also investigating an additional case they consider of a suspect nature..."

The Return of Measles
New York Post
July 5, 2009
"Medical officials used to worry about the outbreak of long-preventable diseases in poor, remote countries. Now they're fretting over Brooklyn. Because of widespread but unfounded fears about vaccines, middle class children are coming down with measles, a disease virtually wiped out in the US..."
ACIP: No Preference for Separate MMR and Varicella Vaccines
MedPage Today
June 30, 2009
“The government's vaccine advisory panel has endorsed giving an infant varicella vaccine either by itself or in combination with the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR)...”

ACIP Revises Immunity Requirements for HCW MMR Vaccination
Pediatric Supersite
June 24, 2009
"The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has updated a decade-old policy about immunity requirements regarding measles-mumps and rubella vaccination for health care workers. Kathleen Gallagher, DSc, from the Division of Viral Diseases at CDC, said her working group recommended changing four areas of the immunity requirements for healthcare personnel, originally published in 1997 in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The first change regarded the addition of laboratory confirmation of disease as adequate proof of immunity against MMR. She said this recommendation was consistent with routine surveillance practices that accept this data as proof of immunity..."

Five New Cases of Measles Have Been Reported in Wales
June 10, 2009
"The National Public Health Service [NPHS] for Wales said there is one new case in Carmarthenshire, one in Pembrokeshire, one in Neath Port Talbot, one in Wrexham and one in Merthyr Tydfil. The new cases in Merthyr and Wrexham are the 1st to be reported in these counties. 16 counties in Wales are now affected..."

Health Department 'Closely Monitoring' 3 Measles Cases
The Intelligencer (Philadelphia)
May 27, 2009
"State and county health officials are saying little about three measles cases involving unvaccinated residents - at least one a school-age child - other than the situation has been contained..."

Measles outbreak in Wales could cause deaths
Western Mail (UK)
May 27, 2009
"It is only a matter of time before someone dies from measles in Wales, public health experts warned last night. There are also fears children could be left with permanent brain damage as the number of people affected by the potentially lethal virus in a series of outbreaks across Wales has risen to 207. The outbreaks and disease are so serious 26 people have been hospitalised and some patients have even been treated in intensive care units..."

'Alarm' at Suspect Measles Cases
BBC News (UK)
May 12, 2009
"Health officials say they are "highly alarmed" that the number of measles cases being investigated in mid and west Wales has reached 109. They have issued an urgent warning that vaccination is the only way to stop the virus spreading but are disappointed with the uptake in schools so far. There are 11 confirmed cases, five are in Pembrokeshire and six in Llanelli.There are also suspected cases in Powys, Ceredigion, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend. Dr Mac Walapu, consultant in communicable disease control for the National Public Health Service said the 109 figure was alarming as there were only 39 cases in Wales last year, 13 in 2007 and none in 2005. He said anyone who had not received the full two doses of the MMR vaccine was at risk from measles and should come forward for immunisation. Cases are occurring across all age groups from children as young as five months to adults in their late 40s..."
Measles Makes Unwelcome Return
Washington Times
May 6, 2009
"While the uproar continues over a potential swine flu pandemic, there is a quiet controversy brewing about the return of an old disease that had once been nearly eradicated in the United States. Last month, Maryland health officials said at least four people had been diagnosed with measles in Montgomery County - including an 8-month-old infant who contracted the disease in a hospital waiting room..."
Rash Actions and Dire Consequences
Guardian (UK)
May 1, 2009
"My baby daughter is desperately ill and her life has been put at risk by the selfishness of a sizable minority of north London parents and their wrong-headed beliefs about the MMR vaccine. Earlier this week my normally vigorous and feisty 11-month-old was reduced to drowsy, snot-filled lethargy. She refused food, became uncharacteristically listless and developed a hacking cough. Then that evening the measles rash appeared over most of her..."
'Very High' Uptake of MMR School Vaccination
Irish Times (Ireland)
April 28, 2009
"Ireland's Health Service Executive launched a measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination campaign in second-level schools on April 24 to combat a nationwide mumps outbreak. The Health Protection Surveillance Centre reported 2,194 mumps cases at the end of the week, up by about 2,000 from the same period in 2008, and the number is expected to rise as areas that have not yet reported to the center do so. The center says vaccine uptake is 'very high' since the start of the campaign, and health officials say the vaccine will be offered again in September for students who do not receive it prior to summer vacation..."
Va. Home to Area's 6th Measles Case
Washington Post
April 22, 2009
"A sixth case of measles has been reported in the Washington Area, this time in Prince William County, the first sign of the disease in Virginia this year. The Virginia Department of Health announced the case yesterday, a day after D.C. officials reported finding the highly infectious disease in a District man who contracted it during a recent three-week trip to India. There is no known link between the Virginia case and the others in the region, health officials said. The source of the measles virus in the Virginia resident has not been identified..."
5th Area Measles Case Is Reported
Washington Post
April 21, 2009
"Health officials said yesterday that a D.C. man has measles, and authorities are retracing his steps earlier this month in the District and Montgomery and Arlington counties to determine whether anyone might have been exposed to the highly infectious disease. It is the fifth case of measles in the region this year, but is not related to the others. The rare outbreak has prompted health officials in the District, Virginia and Maryland to focus on small pockets of unimmunized individuals, mainly babies who have not yet been vaccinated and people born outside the United States. The District man contracted the virus during a three-week trip to India but did not show symptoms until after he returned home, said D.C. Health Department Director Pierre Vigilance..."
Iowa Measles Case Puts Health Officials on Alert
Omaha World-Herald (NE)
April 20, 2009
"Public health officials in Nebraska are keeping a close eye on a measles case in northwest Iowa because of how easily the disease can spread. Measles, a respiratory disease, spreads more easily than the flu or even the common cold, said Dr. Tom Safranek, state epidemiologist for Nebraska. 'It's a scary disease,' he said. Iowa health officials recently reported a case of measles in a child in Clay County in northwest Iowa. The child is recovering. The state is trying to determine how the child was infected...."
Measles Case Reported in Northwest Iowa
Des Moines Register
April 17, 2009
"A case of measles has been reported in northwest Iowa, the Iowa Department of Public Health said Thursday. Health officials are determining how a child was exposed. Measles is highly contagious and can cause serious disease and death..."
Op-ed: Early Warning; Our View: A measles outbreak threatens the region's immigrant communities
Baltimore Sun
April 15, 2009
"Measles, long a scourge of childhood before the development of effective vaccines, has practically disappeared in the United States. Today, most Americans either were vaccinated as children or got the disease before they entered school and are now immune. That's not the case for people who weren't born in this country, however, many of whom remain vulnerable. That's why health department officials are taking urgent steps to contain an outbreak of measles in Montgomery County, where four cases were reported this year. That may not sound like a lot, but because measles is very contagious, every precaution must be taken to keep it from spreading through the area's large immigrant community. Prevention requires identifying and isolating victims so they can't infect others. Officials have linked three of the four victims to a traveler from China who brought the disease back with him; they have yet to determine how the fourth victim, a Hispanic woman, got infected..."
Beware the Herd, Health Officials Say
Marin Independent Journal (CA)
April 15, 2009
"Health officials say the rising number of Marin parents who choose not to vaccinate their children against infectious disease could be putting other children and adults at risk - a phenomenon known as "herd immunity." Marin has one of the state's highest rates of personal belief exemptions, parental waivers that allow children to enroll in kindergarten without receiving vaccinations against diseases like measles, polio or whooping cough. The number of exemptions in the county increased to 6.3 percent from 1999 to 2008, while the state's rate of exemption grew to only 1.9 percent during the same period. Health officials say the growing number of children who aren't vaccinated could be putting other children at risk for infection - even those who have been immunized..."
Four Measles Cases Diagnosed in Maryland
Baltimore Sun
April 14, 2009
"Montgomery County, Md., has confirmed four cases of measles since February, marking the state's first outbreak in eight years. A man who caught the disease on an overseas trip infected a co-worker, who then infected an eight-month-old baby when seeking hospital treatment. The most recent infection is not tied to the other three, and health officials--who stress the need for vaccination--are working to contact people who may have been exposed to the disease. Foreign-born residents who have not been vaccinated are especially vulnerable. Fran Phillips, Maryland's deputy secretary for public health services, says: 'That is really quite a new development. But it does make sense that we see these cases in Montgomery County, which has one of the highest percentages of foreign-born residents.'..."
State Health Officials on Alert for More Measles
Washington Post
April 13, 2009
"Health officials said yesterday that they are trying to contain Maryland's first measles outbreak since 2001 after a fourth case was diagnosed in Montgomery County. Since February, three adults and an 8-month-old have developed measles, a highly infectious virus characterized by a red skin rash. Most Americans are vaccinated for measles, which has largely disappeared in the United States. But last year the number of cases doubled throughout the nation, which health officials attributed mostly to people who traveled overseas and might not be inoculated or have poor immune systems. The virus, which causes high fevers, can lead to pneumonia and, in rare cases, can be fatal to those who have not been vaccinated. In Montgomery, a man contracted the disease while traveling abroad in February and infected an employee at his company, officials said..."
Health Officials Release List of Possible Measles Exposure
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
April 11, 2009
"The Allegheny County Health Department and state Department of Health have provided a comprehensive list of places and times that exposure to measles might have occurred last month throughout southwestern Pennsylvania. The source of the measles was a child from India who arrived March 7 in the United States. Since then, five other people have contracted measles, which is highly contagious, with possibly more awaiting confirmation. Health officials continue to track down unvaccinated or susceptible people who might have been exposed to people with measles and face a risk of infection..."
Measles in Western Pa. Came from India
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
April 10, 2009
"A traveler from India infected at least six people in Western Pennsylvania with measles, state and county officials announced Thursday. The state Department of Health issued an alert last week warning people who visited public areas of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh March 10-11 that a Westmoreland County man and his two children had contracted the disease, which is highly contagious in people who have not been vaccinated. "When we had the first three cases, we started our search for someone who could have brought it in from overseas," said Ron Voorhees, the Allegheny County Health Department's chief of epidemiology. "Essentially all cases come from overseas. We don't have indigenous measles in the United States anymore." The state is not identifying the six infected people or the traveler from India, and suspects that a few more cases exist, though it is awaiting laboratory confirmation. Measles is a virus that is transmitted through breathing air infected with it. Infected people are contagious before they show symptoms, which typically include fever, cough, pain, a runny nose and, eventually, a rash. It is rarely deadly, though about one in 20 children develops pneumonia and one in 1,000 develops a more serious infection, which can lead to brain swelling, Voorhees said. Children who have received a vaccination -- usually in the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, immunization required by schools -- along with a booster shot, are rarely at risk for contracting the disease."
State Confirms Fourth Measles Case at Children's Hospital
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
April 4, 2009
"Health officials said yesterday that they are investigating a fourth case of measles at Children's Hospital, where the infection might have occurred. A news release from the state Department of Health did not offer any information about the age or whereabouts of the latest infected person. The department announced Tuesday that two Westmoreland County preschoolers and their 33-year-old father had been diagnosed with measles...."
Health Officials Tracing Outbreak
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
April 2, 2009
"Tracking the source of measles that infected three members of a Westmoreland County family likely will lead to a foreigner or an unvaccinated individual who had foreign contact. And while health officials said they're certain they'll track down everyone who came in contact with the family, they may never find the source. "Ultimately, this came from a foreign country," said Dr. Jim Lando of the Allegheny County Health Department..."
Measles Case Led to Concern, Quarantines
Los Angeles Times
March 29, 2009
"Once vaccination rates dip below a certain point, outbreaks of childhood diseases can spread quickly. Last year, Hilary Chambers, a San Diego radio host and mother of a baby girl, saw firsthand how fast measles can be passed among children. A 7-year-old boy brought back a case of the disease from Switzerland and infected his two siblings and nine other children at his public charter school and doctors' office. One of those children, a 10-month-old boy too young to be vaccinated, went to day care with Chambers' daughter Finlee. Public health officials informed Chambers that her daughter was at risk for contracting measles. Finlee had just turned 12 months old, meaning she was eligible for her first measles shot, but that inoculation appointment hadn't yet been scheduled. Chambers was told that she needed to keep Finlee quarantined at home, 24 hours a day, for three weeks. "So I totally freaked out," Chambers said. "The child at our day care that contracted measles was hospitalized with a 106-degree fever." Finlee was one of about 70 children who were quarantined in the case..."
English Measles Invasion Spreads Across Otago
Otago Daily Times (NZ)
March 2, 2009
"An English measles [as opposed to German measles] outbreak which began early last month [February 2009] has now affected 13 Otago people aged from 4 to 22 years. Medical Officer of Health for Otago Southland Dr John Holmes said new cases could all be linked to the original 4 that turned up in an unvaccinated family which had traveled to Viet Nam in January 2009. Dr Holmes said he was keeping an open mind on the possibility of more cases and that it was important that if doctors thought an illness was measles that they order relevant blood tests. The illness is considered rare in New Zealand, with 12 cases recorded last year. Three of the new cases occurred in Logan Park High School pupils..."
San Francisco Department of Public Health Contained Measles Outbreak, Possibly Saving Lives
San Francisco Weekly
February 27, 2009
"Just weeks ago, a San Francisco man who had traveled abroad brought back a deadly souvenir. He had spent some time in Europe with a friend who had been diagnosed with measles, and several days after he returned to the city, he began showing symptoms..."
Taiwan DOH on Guard Against Measles Outbreak
Taiwan News
February 25, 2009
"The Department of Health (DOH) is monitoring the conditions of individuals having had contact with a child who was infected with the measles after traveling to China, a DOH official said Tuesday. Chou Jih-haw, deputy director of the DOH's Center for Disease Control, said that although no one has been infected after coming into contact with the baby boy, the DOH will not let down its guard until mid-March. The 15-month-old baby boy living in central Taiwan caught the measles when he was hospitalized for diarrhea while traveling with his mother in Hunan, China, Chou said..."
Anatomy of a Scare: When one study linked childhood vaccines to autism, it set off a panic
Newsweek
February 21, 2009
From the magazine issue dated March 2, 2009
"Like many people in London on that bleak February day in 1998, biochemist Nicholas Chadwick was eager to hear what the scientists would say. The Royal Free Hospital, where he was a graduate student in the lab of gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield, had called a press conference to unveil the results of a new study. With flashbulbs popping, Wakefield stepped up to the bank of microphones: he and his colleagues, he said, had discovered a new syndrome that they believed was triggered by the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine..."
MMR Scare Doctor Andrew Wakefield Makes Fortune in US
Times Online
February 14, 2009
"The doctor who triggered an international scare over the MMR vaccine, contributing to a resurgence of measles cases in Britain, has admitted that his claims are 'not proved.' Andrew Wakefield, who is the subject of a disciplinary inquiry by the General Medical Council, told The Times that he was unrepentant about his theory linking the combined MMR vaccine to bowel disorders and autism..."
MMR Vaccine: 'No jab, no school'
The Guardian (UK)
February 10, 2009
"As British health experts become increasingly anxious about declining rates of immunisation and the risk of a serious measles epidemic in the UK, the American authorities are convinced that their tougher rules are the answer. Parents in the US are not simply advised by the health authorities to get their children vaccinated against measles - they are obliged to do it by law. Children who have not been immunised face a 'no jab, no school' exclusion from daycare, nursery and school. In extreme cases, their parents have been threatened with fines and jail..."
Measles on the Rise in Australia and Switzerland, Too
Discover Magazine
February 9, 2009
"At what point do start to hold antivaxxers responsible? I ask, because we're on the verge of a record year for measles in Australia: in Victoria, 11 cases have been reported in 2009 so far. That's far more more than in 2006 and 2007 combined, and under extrapolation is as bad as an outbreak in 1999 where over 100 cases were reported. As if that weren't enough, Switzerland has had 22 cases reported in two days. Is antivax rhetoric to blame here?..."
MMR Doctor Andrew Wakefield Fixed Data on Autism
Times Online (UK)
February 8, 2009
"The doctor who sparked the scare over the safety of the MMR vaccine for children changed and misreported results in his research, creating the appearance of a possible link with autism, a Sunday Times investigation has found..."
See all articles in this series by Brian Deer
Hidden Records Show MMR Truth
How the MMR Scare Led to Return of Measles
MMR: Key Dates in the Crisis
Region Sees Huge Rise in Measles
BBC News
February 6, 2009
"More cases of measles were confirmed in the North West of England than anywhere else in the country in the last three months of 2008, health officials say. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said that confirmed cases increased from 31 in 2007 to 180 last year - a 480% jump. Experts said most of the outbreaks had occurred in communities with large numbers of children who did not receive the MMR vaccine...Public confidence in the triple vaccine dipped following research - since discredited - which raised the possibility that the jab may be linked to an increased risk of autism..."
More German Children Need Measles Jabs: WHO study
Reuters
February 2, 2009
"A new World Health Organization study says more German children need measles vaccines to prevent another outbreak like the one that occurred in 2006 and affected over 12,000 people in Germany, Romania, Britain, Switzerland, and Italy. Low vaccination rates are blamed for the outbreak, and researchers from the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin and two German public health centers say "catch-up vaccination campaigns" targeting 10- to 14-year-olds should be rolled out. A separate study published in The Lancet says Germany's vaccination rate for children born in 1996 to 2003 is 70 percent. Experts say a 95 percent vaccination rate for all of Europe is necessary to prevent measles outbreaks..."
2008
Measles Deaths Drop 74% Worldwide With Vaccine Push
Bloomberg
December 4, 2008
"Measles deaths tumbled 74 percent worldwide from 2000 through 2007, the result of a campaign to vaccinate children in developing countries, world health officials said today. About 197,000 people died from measles last year compared with 750,000 in 2000, according to a report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. The biggest improvements were in Africa and in eastern Mediterranean countries, among them Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sudan..."
Measles and MMR: Sow the wind
The Economist (UK)
December 4, 2008
"Fledging engineers learn about disasters like the 1988 Piper Alpha oil-rig fire or the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986 as a reminder of the dangers that attend their profession. Perhaps, if the subject ever achieves respectability, media-studies undergraduates will pore over the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine scare in 21st-century Britain. On November 28th the Health Protection Agency (HPA), which monitors infectious diseases, said that there were 1,049 cases of measles in England and Wales in the ten months to October 2008. Even before the year is out, that makes 2008 the worst year since 1995, when current reporting methods began (see chart)..."
Mass Measles Vaccination Starts
BBC News (UK)
December 3, 2008
"A mass vaccination of more than 10,000 children is beginning in Cheshire to head off a measles epidemic. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said there had been 75 reported cases of the illness in central and eastern parts of the county in 2008. Nurses are visiting more than 200 schools to ‘nip it in the bud’, said HPA spokesman Hugh Lamont. The agency has written to thousands of parents asking for their consent for unprotected children to be vaccinated. Health officials have identified 10,534 children - 17% of Cheshire's school population - from the Child Health Register as not having the MMR or the pre-school booster jab..."
Measles Cases Surge to New High
BBC News (UK)
November 28, 2008
"Measles cases in England and Wales have topped 1,000 in a year for the first time in more than a decade, Health Protection Agency figures show. In the first 10 months of 2008 there were 1,049 cases, more than in the whole of 2007, the agency said. It said measles was spreading more easily because of the low uptake of the combined MMR jab over the past decade. In Cheshire, an outbreak of more than 60 cases has prompted the launch of a programme to vaccinate 10,000 pupils..."
Gibraltar Suffers Fast-Spreading Measles Outbreak
The New York Times
November 11, 2008
"A measles outbreak in Gibraltar has infected almost 1 percent of the territory’s 28,000 people in just three months, according to a report by its public health director. The outbreak, mostly in schoolchildren, made it clear that the authorities had been wrong in assuming that more than 90 percent of children had had measles shots, the report said. Gibraltar is a British territory, and resistance to the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine has been high in Britain since a 1998 report in The Lancet speculated that it could cause autism. That report has been widely discredited, and numerous later studies showed no link between vaccines and autism. Nonetheless, as a consequence of dropping vaccination rates, Britain has had several local measles outbreaks..."
Vaccinations’ Benefits Proved; Enforce the Law
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
October 29, 2008
"Unfounded fears about vaccines are causing too many parents to forgo getting the shots their children need to stay healthy and not spread dangerous diseases among their playmates. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last month that measles cases in the United States had reached the highest level in more than a decade, an alarming rise in a disease thought to be eliminated in the United States eight years ago. The spike is directly linked to parents refusing to get their children inoculated against the easily spread disease..."
Measles Risk from Perth Airline Flight
EmaxHealth
October 20, 2008
"The Department of Health has today confirmed measles in a passenger who arrived in Perth [Western Australia] aboard a Royal Brunei Airlines flight from Thailand on 1 Oct 2008. The passenger also attended funeral services held on Fri 3 Oct 2008 before developing a measles rash the following day. Medical Coordinator Communicable Disease Control Dr Paul Effler said measles was contagious for up to 5 days before the development of the rash and passengers on the same flights and those at the funeral service may be at risk of developing measles if they were not immune. "A person is considered immune to measles if they have received 2 doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine or were born before 1966," he said..."
Op-ed: Measles not Worth the Risk
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
October 9, 2008
"I’m in a hospital bed, gasping for breath. Through the clear plastic of an oxygen tent, I see my Mom. Her face is red and she’s crying and crying. I feel hot. Every few hours a nurse opens the oxygen tent and gives me a shot. It hurts. It’s 1959. I’m in second grade…my measles didn’t go away. It got worse and turned into something I’d never heard of: pneumonia. I spent a month in the hospital, survived, and spent a few more months recovering at home. But more than four million children got measles in the United States in that year and 385 died. Most Americans don’t remember those days. Why? Because four years after I got sick, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began a mass measles immunization program. By 2000, the number of reported cases of measles had decreased to 86 and the number of deaths to one..."
Measles Are a Growing Threat
Louisville Courier Journal (KY)
September 25, 2008
"Measles cases in the United States are at the highest level in more than a decade with almost half of them involving children whose parents rejected vaccination, federal health officials report. Concerned pediatricians are troubled by the trend and by the failure of parents to realize that measles is a highly contagious and potentially deadly disease…'By getting the immunization, you are not only protecting your children, but the elderly, the immune-compromised and babies,' said Dr. Joshua Honaker, an Oldham County pediatrician who is chairman of the Kentucky Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics...Apparently, Internet-based reports and celebrities on TV talk shows have created anxiety in parents about the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, Honaker said. 'I tell them there is no connection between the vaccine and autism,' he said...Honaker is a member of a newly formed local group of academic and practicing pediatricians who call themselves Pediatricians for Immunization. They hope to develop more avenues for educating parents and getting them the information they need so they aren't scared about vaccinations of all kinds..."
Washington Post Investigations: Measles on Rise as Parents Question Vaccine
Washington Post
August 28, 2008
"Reports of measles are on the rise, with health experts attributing the increase to the decision by some parents to forego vaccinations for their children out of fears the shots could trigger diseases...The American Academy of Pediatrics says extensive reports from several leading researchers have found no 'proven association' between autism and measles vaccines. Experts recently told the Chicago Tribune that autism 'tends to emerge at the same age children receive their shots, leading to a false sense of cause and effect...' Many parents of children afflicted with autism continue to argue that a link exists, pointing to a legal dispute in Georgia between the family of 9-year-old Hannah Poling and the federal government...At the time, several researchers -- including Dr. William Schaffner, professor and chairman of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University, and Dr. Ira Rubin of Naperville Pediatrics in Naperville, Ill. -- said legal action does not equate with scientific proof of a link between vaccines and autism..."
Op-ed: Measles Returns
New York Times
August 24, 2008
"There has been an upsurge of measles cases in the United States, mostly because of parents’ misguided fears of vaccinations. The number is still relatively small — but climbing. In the first seven months of this year, 131 cases were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than during the same period in any year since 1996. No deaths were reported, but at least 15 patients were hospitalized..."
Jump in Measles Outbreaks Worries Health Officials
Associated Press
August 21, 2008
"The number of measles cases in the U.S. is at its highest level since 1997, and nearly half of those involve children whose parents rejected vaccination, government health officials reported Thursday. The number of cases is still small, just 131, but that's just for the first seven months of the year and doctors are troubled by the trend. There were only 42 cases for all of last year..."
Minnesota Tracking Two Cases of Measles
Star Tribune (MN)
August 7, 2008
"An unidentified 10-month-old in Hennepin County contracted the disease from someone in the community. For the first time since 2001, a child in the state has picked up the infectious disease from someone in the community, adding one more case to what federal health officials say is a worrisome number nationally..."
Measles Report: Why we still need vaccines
MinnPost
August 7, 2008
"On Wednesday, the Minnesota Department of Health reported that a 10-month-old child in Hennepin County had been diagnosed with measles. Yes, the measles. According to the Health Department, the child was first evaluated in an emergency room on July 29, presumably with the typical symptoms that develop a week after exposure to the measles virus: fever, bad cough, runny nose, red eyes. The classic measles rash begins at the hairline two to three days later and is densest around the shoulders..."
Measles Outbreak Hits 127 People in 15 States
Reuters.com
July 9, 2008
"The biggest U.S. outbreak of measles since 1997 has sickened 127 people in 15 states, most of whom were not vaccinated against the highly contagious viral illness, federal health officials said on Wednesday. The outbreak was driven by travelers who became infected overseas -- 10 countries are implicated -- then returned to the United States ill and infected others, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention..."
Official Warning: Measles 'endemic' in Britain
The Independent (UK)
June 21, 2008
"Measles has become endemic in Britain, 14 years after its spread was halted in the resident population, the country's public health watchdog says. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) warned that the number of unvaccinated children was now large enough to sustain the "continuous spread" of the potentially lethal virus in the community. It blamed a failure by parents over the past 10 years to give their children the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine..."
State Gives $350K More to Fight Measles Outbreak
The Independent (UK)
May 21, 2008
"With the measles outbreak now affecting 22 people in two Arizona counties, Gov. Janet Napolitano has released $350,000 more from the state health-crisis fund to fight it. That follows an initial $50,000 given from the fund last month..."
Measles Control to Cost at Least $1 Million
Arizona Daily Star
May 15, 2008
"Handling the measles outbreak will cost the county at least $1 million, county officials reported to the state. Pima County Health Department spokeswoman Patti Woodcock said the county submitted a $1 million budget for its costs of fighting the outbreak between mid-April and the end of May. Woodcock said the county won't know until the fall how much the outbreak has cost. Twenty people in Pima County have been infected since February, when a Swiss tourist visited Northwest Medical Center, exposing staffers and visitors..."
Measles Threat Becomes Real
Olympian (WA)
May 11, 2008
"With the number of confirmed measles cases in central Washington's Grant County rising to 15, medical experts say children should be vaccinated to prevent a similar outbreak in South Sound. "I think it's becoming a real issue," Olympia pediatrician Henry de Give said. "It's no longer a question of out of sight, out of mind." Once dismissed as a minor red rash and fever, measles is "becoming a real threat," de Give said..."
Officials Scramble to Keep Outbreak Under Control
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
May 9, 2008
"Mary Rotar was getting ready to head home for the weekend, when the call came late that Friday afternoon. The 23-month-old girl with the rash and fever does have measles, the state health lab technician said..."
Measles Madness--Will NY Encourage Illness?
Author: Scott Gottliebv, MD
New York Post
May 8, 2008
"Measles, which once killed 500 American children a year, is making a comeback - and some New York lawmakers are eager to help the disease prosper. The Centers for Disease Control reports a surge in measles outbreaks; almost all the cases are in children who never received the routine shots for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). Vanquished diseases are rebounding thanks to growing - but groundless - fears over the safety of traditional vaccines..."
CDC Cites Largest U.S. Resurgence of Measles Since 2001
Washington Post
May 2, 2008
"At least four outbreaks of measles are underway around the United States, the largest resurgence in years of the once-common childhood disease, federal health officials reported yesterday. At least 64 cases were reported in nine states between Jan. 1 and April 25, and four outbreaks are ongoing in Arizona, New York, Michigan and Wisconsin, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. That is the largest number of cases reported for that time period since 2001..."
Measles or Autism? Not a Choice
LATimes Health Blog
April 17, 2008
"Public discussion of childhood immunizations has been set of late by their opponents. They contend, extremely vehemently, that the vaccinations can cause autism. The risk of childhood disease, many of these critics say, is a small one compared to the risk of autism. Now one of the diseases behind those vaccinations has struck close to home, with the L.A. Times reporting Monday that a local child has been hospitalized with measles. Arizona and Wisconsin have reported outbreaks as well. And the CDC recently urged measles vaccinations for unimmunized travelers to Israel, site of a recent 900-case outbreak..."
Parents Flock for Vaccines
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
April 17, 2008
"With a measles outbreak reaching into Waukesha County, nervous parents lined up Wednesday to get their children - and sometimes themselves - vaccinated..."
Measles Outbreak in Israel Triggers Traveler Cautions
Sacramento Bee
April 15, 2008
"The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants Americans traveling to Israel to make sure they are immunized against measles. More than 900 people in Israel have been diagnosed with measles since September, the majority of them in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh. Measles is a highly contagious virus, spread through coughing and sneezing..."
100 Get Measles Vaccine amid Outbreak
Associated Press
April 14, 2008
"About 100 people received vaccinations against the measles in Pima County during the weekend. The Pima County Health Department has scheduled another measles-only vaccination clinic on Wednesday. County health officials say that up to 500 people who visited University Medical Center from April 3 through April 8 could have been exposed to the measles..."
Op-ed: Ignore the Fear, Get the Vaccines
Journal Times (WI)
April 11, 2008
"It should be a no-brainer, should be but isn’t, this business of being vaccinated against disease. Yes many people do it, and yes it’s advice preached regularly by doctors and public health workers. Yet every time some vaccine-preventable disease flares up, it’s almost guaranteed that the anti-vaccine voices will be heard..."
Measles Outbreak Brewing, City Health Officials Say
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
April 11, 2008
"With a fourth case of measles confirmed on Thursday, Milwaukee is on the verge of a widespread outbreak of the disease, public health officials said. 'There has been massive exposure,' said Paul Biedrzycki, the director of disease control and environmental health for the Milwaukee Health Department. Two more cases were confirmed Thursday. Health officials have been bracing all week for a massive outbreak. 'An outbreak is anticipated, because of the way people live, work and play,' Biedrzycki said..."
Measles Case: 500 May Be at Risk
Arizona Daily Star
April 11, 2008
"As many as 500 people may have been exposed to measles in recent days by the newest case in the ongoing outbreak -- a 2-year-old boy now hospitalized at University Medical Center. This 10th case of measles since the local outbreak began in mid-February is the first with no link to the original victim, who exposed people at Northwest Medical Center. 'This means the measles virus is circulating in our community,' said Dr. Michelle McDonald, chief medical officer for Pima County. 'Measles is the most contagious disease we know of, so it is very likely there are other people out there who have been infected.' At this point, health officials don't know how this child became infected. But they do know that none of the 10 victims -- five adults and five children -- was ever immunized against measles..."
Measles Warning Issued for Overseas Trips
April 9, 2008
New York Sun
"City health officials, linking a number of recent cases of measles to an outbreak in Israel, are urging New Yorkers planning international travel to make sure they have been vaccinated. So far this year, the health department has identified 10 cases of measles, double the number in all of 2007 and the same as in 2000, the year officials said the city experienced its last measles "outbreak..."
Measles Confirmed in Toddler
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
April 8, 2008
"A 23-month-old child was confirmed to have measles, the Franklin Health Department announced Monday. Although health officials could not say where or how the child contracted the disease, the girl attended day care centers in both Greendale and Greenfield. She was infectious while at day care during the week of March 24..."
Measles Carrier May Still Be at Large
Toronto Globe
April 5, 2008
"Public health officials are concerned the original carrier of a recent outbreak of measles may still be at large after it was determined that none of four reportedly infected people has traveled recently, effectively ruling them out as the source..."
Measles Outbreak in Austria
ProMED Mail
April 4, 2008
"Up to now there have been about 180 cases of measles in Austria in and around the city of Salzburg. (There have also been reports of measles outbreaks in Germany (Bavaria) and Upper Austria). The [Salzburg] outbreak began in a school, where most of the parents were against any immunisation (a Waldorfschule)..."
Measles Hits 9 in county; Spread Leads to Concern
Arizona Daily Star
April 1, 2008
"With nine cases of measles now confirmed in Pima County, health officials are warning that the disease is likely spreading through the community. Their worst fears are becoming real as a single measles case -- discovered six weeks ago at Northwest Medical Center -- continues to trigger infections among Tucsonans. As a result, health officials are now urging earlier measles vaccinations for infants, who are extremely vulnerable to serious complications from the virus..."
Measles Claims 165 Children in Katsina
All Africa
March 28, 2008
"Measles epidemic killed 165 children in Katsina State in the last three months, the state director, Disease Control, Dr Halliru Idris, has said. He told newsmen yesterday in Katsina that so far 3,064 cases were recorded in the state from January 2008 to date..."
Officials Seek People Possibly Exposed to Girl with Measles
Washington Post
March 15, 2008
"A Northern Virginia toddler caught measles on a family trip to India, and health officials are trying to find people in this area who might have been exposed to her. Health officials said the girl's case is the first reported in Virginia since 2001. Measles can be serious, but a vaccine has almost eliminated the illness in this country, authorities said. They said 37 cases were reported in the United States in 2004, compared with hundreds of thousands a year before the vaccine..."
CDC Clarifies Preference on Childhood Vaccines
Bloomberg
March 13, 2008
"Children who get a combined vaccine against measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox are slightly more likely to have seizures compared to those getting two separate shots for the same diseases, U.S. officials said on Thursday. The seizures are not usually life-threatening and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was no longer expressing a preference that children get the so-called MMRV combined vaccine rather than two shots -- the MMR vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella (German measles) and a separate one against varicella (chicken pox)..."
Health Workers Try to Halt Iraq Measles Outbreak
Reuters News
March 11, 2008
"Hundreds of health workers are in Iraq's Anbar province to vaccinate 200,000 children against measles in a bid to contain an outbreak which has already struck 100 children, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday. The 10-day campaign, begun on Sunday, aims to protect children against the highly-contagious disease which can cause complications including blindness, encephalitis (a brain infection) and pneumonia, it said..."
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