AFP Jan 29, 2015 4:43 PM Phoenix (AFP) - Health authorities in Arizona are on alert after warning that 1,000 people may have been exposed ...
AFP Jan 29, 2015 4:43 PM
Phoenix (AFP) - Health authorities in Arizona are on alert after warning that 1,000 people may have been exposed to a measles outbreak as the US state prepares to host this weekend's Super Bowl.
Arizona's Department of Health recommended that any unvaccinated child or adult who had been in contact with infected people to spend 21 days in isolation at home to curb the risk of spreading the virus.
Anyone deemed at risk of infection has been offered doses of immune globulin, which would not prevent them from getting measles but can reduce symptoms if administered within six days, authorities said.
Measles is highly contagious and can be spread through the air without physical contact. Infection usually begins with a fever, followed by a cough, runny nose, conjunctivitis and a rash.
Complications from measles can include blindness, hearing loss, pneumonia and death. One to three children of every 1,000 infected with measles will die from it, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"This is a critical point in this outbreak," Arizona Department of Health Services Director Will Humble said in a statement.
"If the public health system and medical community are able to identify every single susceptible case and get them into isolation, we have a chance of stopping this outbreak here."
Humble said more than 1,000 people were believed to have come into some contact with seven measles cases confirmed in Arizona so far.
- Disney outbreak -
The latest outbreak has centered around the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim outside Los Angeles, and has grown to 84 confirmed cases in 14 states, 67 of which are known to be linked to the Disney outbreak, the US Centers for Disease Control said Thursday.
Four of the patients diagnosed in Arizona are members of one unvaccinated family who visited the California resort.
Read More - http://news.yahoo.com/super-bowl-alert-measles-outbreak-warning-arizona-210753800.html
Phoenix (AFP) - Health authorities in Arizona are on alert after warning that 1,000 people may have been exposed to a measles outbreak as the US state prepares to host this weekend's Super Bowl.
Arizona's Department of Health recommended that any unvaccinated child or adult who had been in contact with infected people to spend 21 days in isolation at home to curb the risk of spreading the virus.
Anyone deemed at risk of infection has been offered doses of immune globulin, which would not prevent them from getting measles but can reduce symptoms if administered within six days, authorities said.
Measles is highly contagious and can be spread through the air without physical contact. Infection usually begins with a fever, followed by a cough, runny nose, conjunctivitis and a rash.
Complications from measles can include blindness, hearing loss, pneumonia and death. One to three children of every 1,000 infected with measles will die from it, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"This is a critical point in this outbreak," Arizona Department of Health Services Director Will Humble said in a statement.
"If the public health system and medical community are able to identify every single susceptible case and get them into isolation, we have a chance of stopping this outbreak here."
Humble said more than 1,000 people were believed to have come into some contact with seven measles cases confirmed in Arizona so far.
- Disney outbreak -
The latest outbreak has centered around the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim outside Los Angeles, and has grown to 84 confirmed cases in 14 states, 67 of which are known to be linked to the Disney outbreak, the US Centers for Disease Control said Thursday.
Four of the patients diagnosed in Arizona are members of one unvaccinated family who visited the California resort.
Read More - http://news.yahoo.com/super-bowl-alert-measles-outbreak-warning-arizona-210753800.html
