Kansas declares end of measles outbreak as Wisconsin total grows

News brief

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) yesterday announced the end of a large measles outbreak in the southwestern part of the state, after two incubation periods passed with no new cases.

teen with measles — *Natalya Maisheva/iStock*

The outbreak began in January and initially had links to the West Texas outbreak. The state confirmed 87 illnesses linked to the outbreak, 80% of them in children and 90% in people who were not vaccinated. Eight patients were hospitalized.

State health officials thanked public health, medical, and lab workers who they said worked tirelessly through the outbreak, and they urged the public to keep their guard up against the measles, given multiple ongoing outbreaks in North America.

Wisconsin outbreak grows, Pennsylvania warns of exposures

Elsewhere, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and Oconto County Public Health have identified five more measles infections linked to nine earlier cases reported from Oconto County in early August, bringing the total to 14.

Officials said the ongoing investigation indicates that measles is spreading locally. Oconto County is located in northeastern Wisconsin and is part of the Green Bay area.

In other measles developments, the Pennsylvania Department of Health yesterday issued an alert about potential measles exposures in four counties after an out-of-state traveler visited the state while contagious. The exposures occurred in Adams, Clearfield, Lancaster, and York counties. Locations included two Mennonite facilities, along with a travel center, a restaurant, and an entertainment venue.

US COVID markers continue upward trend

News brief

Lisa Schnirring

COVID-19 markers continue to rise in the United States, with activity increasing in most parts of the country, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its latest data updates.

Over the past week, test positivity rose a bit from 8.9% to 9.9%, with levels as high as 15% in the south-central part of the country, followed by levels at the 10% to 12% range in western states. The CDC said its modeling estimates suggest COVID infections are likely growing or growing in all states.

ED visits highest for young children

Emergency department (ED) visits for COVID, still at low levels, also rose, up 15.2% compared to the previous week. Levels are higher in the South, Southeast, and West compared with other parts of the country. The CDC said ED visits are rising for all age groups and are highest in young children.

Hospitalization rates have shown a slight upward trend since July, and the rate of deaths from COVID remains low with no change reported compared with the previous week.

Due to technical issues, the CDC did not report wastewater data for COVID, influenza A, or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) today and said it would resume updates as soon as possible. Last week, it said the overall detection level was low and highest in the West.

Quick takes: More flu deaths in US kids, new chikungunya cases in France and Italy, new polio cases in 5 countries

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today reported an additional five influenza-associated pediatric deaths during the 2024-25 flu season, bringing the total for the season to 275, the highest number of pediatric deaths in any non-pandemic flu season since 2004. The deaths occurred between late January (week 4) and late May (week 21), the CDC said in its weekly Fluview update. Ninety percent of the reported pediatric deaths have occurred in children who weren't fully vaccinated against flu.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said today that France and Italy reported 45 and 22 new locally-acquired cases of chikungunya virus disease this week, respectively. As of Aug 20, France has now reported 156 cases of the mosquito-borne disease, distributed across 27 clusters, 20 of which are still active. Italy has reported 29 cases across 4 cluster, all of which remain active. Although France and Italy are the only two European countries that have reported chikungunya cases this year, the ECDC warned earlier this week that the Aedes albopictus mosquitoes that can spread this virus now have a foothold in 16 European countries and 369 regions, up sharply from just 114 regions a decade ago.
Five countries reported polio cases this week, according to the latest update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Pakistan reported two wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases, with onsets of paralysis on July 28 and 29, bringing its number of WPV1 cases this year to 21. Four countries reported new circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases, including Yemen, which reported 26 cases, 15 of which are from 2024. GPEI said Yemen's recent increase in reported in reported cVDPV2 cases is not linked to an increase in transmission but rather to retrospective testing associated with the recent release of previously collected specimens. Angola, Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo each reported one cVDPV2 case.