Philadelphia Measles Outbreak Includes Daycare Exposure

A measles outbreak is unfolding in the Philadelphia area after at least 8 people were confirmed to have been diagnosed with the extremely contagious virus.

NBC News reports that the outbreak began when a child — who’d spent time outside the country — was admitted to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) with an infection. Doctors eventually determined the illness was measles. According to the World Health Organization, measles spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. It can affect anyone but is most common in children. Symptoms can include a high fever, cough, runny nose and a rash all over the body.

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health did not confirm to NBC News where the child contracted the disease.

While at the hospital, the outlet said the child spread the illness to three other patients including a parent and child, who were there for other health reasons.

The child who’d contracted measles in the hospital had yet to be vaccinated. Their parent also wasn’t vaccinated. The adult was offered medication for unvaccinated adults to prevent illness after exposure but reportedly refused.

Things took a turn for the worse when the parent ignored the Philadelphia Department of Public Health‘s quarantine rules that recommend anyone who may have been exposed to measles to stay home and away from others.

Instead, on Dec. 20 and 21 they sent the child to daycare. There, measles spread to four additional people. The health department told NBC News that none of the people who’ve been diagnosed with the virus are immune to measles, meaning they’ve never gotten a measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine or had not contracted measles in the past.

Doug Thompson, chief medical officer at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, told the outlet the hospital has seen 3 patients between 1 and 2 years old from the current outbreak. He added that none of them had been vaccinated.

“With those who’ve had a rash, certainly we’ve been on the highest alert, but we are asking everybody about exposures to people with measles,” he said.

A press release from the City of Philadelphia says that the city is currently working to identify everyone who may have been exposed, checking their vaccine status, warning them that they may have been exposed and issuing quarantine and exclusion recommendations where necessary.

They add that while Philadelphia has high vaccination rates, with at least 93% of children fully vaccinated by age 6, about 90% of people who have close contact with an infected person will get measles if they’re not vaccinated.

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According to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization in November 2023, the measles crisis continues to be a prevalent issue.

A joint report released on Friday by the agencies reported an 18% increase in measles cases and a 43% rise in deaths from measles from 2021 to 2022. The decline of vaccinations made available during the COVID-19 pandemic was attributed as a contributing factor.

“In 2022, measles vaccination coverage and global surveillance showed some recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic setbacks; however, coverage declined in low-income countries, and globally, years of suboptimal immunization coverage left millions of children unprotected,” the report stated.

With measles cases increasing globally from 7,802,000 to 9,232,300, the number of countries that experienced disruptive outbreaks also rose from 22 to 37. Deaths from the disease spiked to 136,200 in 2022. The agencies estimated that 57 million measles deaths were averted by vaccination from 2000 to 2022.

“The increase in measles outbreaks and deaths is staggering, but unfortunately, not unexpected given the declining vaccination rates we’ve seen in the past few years,” John Vertefeuille, director of CDC’s Global Immunization Division, said in a news release. “Measles cases anywhere pose a risk to all countries and communities where people are under-vaccinated. Urgent, targeted efforts are critical to prevent measles disease and deaths.”