U.S. Measles Outbreak Tied to One Person

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U.S. Measles Outbreak Tied to One Person

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Dec 21, 2:18 PM (ET)

By DANIEL YEE

ATLANTA (AP) - The biggest U.S.

measles outbreak in a decade - 34 people stricken in Indiana

and Illinois last year - was traced back to a

17-year-old girl who had traveled to Romania without first getting

vaccinated, government health officials said Thursday.

The outbreak accounted for more than half of

the 66 measles cases in the United

States in 2005. Widespread use of the

measles vaccine has dramatically reduced the incidence of the disease over the

past four decades; in 2004, there were just 37 cases, the smallest number in

nearly 90 years of record-keeping.

The Indiana

girl became infected after visiting a Romanian orphanage while on a

church-mission trip, health investigators said. The others became infected

after they attended a church gathering with her the day after her return.

" Orphanages are known to be higher risk "

for measles, said Dr. Philip Gould of the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention. " The main point is to ensure that people do get vaccinated,

especially prior to leaving the country, going to a place that physicians

suspect that measles is a risk. "

Thirty-three people in Indiana

and one from Illinois

became infected. Three people were hospitalized, but no one died.

Only two of the 34 people had been vaccinated

against measles.

" The outbreak occurred

because measles was imported into a population of children whose parents had

chosen not to vaccinate their children because of safety concerns, despite

evidence that measles-containing vaccine is safe and effective, " the CDC

said.

Nearly all of the 32 other U.S. cases in 2005

originated abroad, including 16 involving U.S. residents infected while

traveling overseas and seven involving foreigners who were infected before

visiting the United States.

In the decade before a vaccine became

available in 1963, about 450,000 measles cases and about 450 measles deaths

were recorded in the U.S.

each year. The disease - often characterized by a rash that begins on the face

and spreads - can cause ear infections, diarrhea and pneumonia. It kills about

one in 1,000 patients, according to the CDC.

The U.S. vaccination rate against

measles is now more than 90 percent.

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On the Net:

CDC measles info: http://www.cdc.gov/nip/diseases/measles/faqs.htm