In the United States, rates of measles, a vaccine-preventable disease, are usually fairly low, with just 61 cases in 2010. Since 1997, measles cases have ranged from a low of 37 in 2004 to a high of 222 in 2011.
Before the routine use of the measles vaccine (1963) and the MMR vaccine (1971), though, measles cases -- and complications from those cases -- were high. There used to be about 500,000 cases of measles and 500 measles deaths each year in the United States.
Measles Outbreaks 2012
Recent measles outbreaks and exposures include:
- Seventeen cases of measles in Indiana, including sixteen cases of measles in two counties just north of Indianapolis, Indiana (2012).
- An vaccinated 6-year-old (it is unknown if she was fully or partially vaccinated though) in Clayton, Delaware (2012).
- An unvaccinated child in Riverside County, California (2012).
- Six cases in Finley County, Kansas, which started in two family members who had traveled out of the country and then spread to four of their contacts (2012).
In addition to many developing countries where measles is still endemic, 2011 international measles outbreaks have been reported in:
- France - over 13,957 cases
- Spain - 1,637 cases
- Italy - over 4,300 cases
- Germany - 1,480 cases
- England and Wales - 854 cases
- Quebec, Canada - 742 cases
The rise in measles cases around the world has changed the recommendations for measles vaccination in the U.S. While children routinely get their first MMR vaccine at 12 months and a booster dose at 4 years, if they are traveling overseas, infants should get their first dose as young as six months of age. Children who are at least 12 months old should get two doses of MMR, separated by at least 28 days.
Measles Outbreaks - What You Need To Know
Other things to know about measles and measles outbreaks include:
- From 2 to 5% of people do not respond to their first dose of measles vaccine, which is why a booster dose is recommended.
- More than 99% of people develop immunity to measles after two doses of a measles vaccine, like MMR.
- A booster dose of MMR was not first recommended in 1989, so many adults born before 1985 may not have had two doses of MMR.
- Measles is fatal in about 0.2% of cases.
- The measles virus is spread by respiratory droplets and can stay in an area for up to two hours after a person with measles symptoms has left.
- People with measles are contagious from four days before they develop the measles rash to four days after it goes away.
- Call your pediatrician if you think your child has measles (don't just show up at their office or in the ER), especially if he develops a high fever and/or rash during a local measles outbreak or after a trip out of the country.
Most importantly, parents should understand that a measles vaccine (MMR) is the best way to protect your child from measles, and is especially important if there is a measles outbreak in your area or if you are traveling to an area with high rates of measles.
Sources:
CDC. Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables. MMWR. January 7, 2011 / 59(52);1704-1717.
CDC. Outbreak of Measles --- San Diego, California, January--February 2008. MMWR. February 29, 2008 / 57(08);203-206
CDC. Update: Measles --- United States, January--July 2008. MMWR. August 22, 2008 / 57(33);893-896
Manual for the Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (4th Edition, 2008)
The Pink Book: Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine Preventable Diseases. Updated 11th Edition, (May 2009)
World Health Organization. Measles Fact Sheet. December 2009. Accessed February 2011.
