Two measles cases confirmed in New Orleans

News brief

The Louisiana Department of Health yesterday announced that two measles cases have been confirmed in the greater New Orleans area. An investigation is under way, and officials said the patients had recently traveled out of state.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune, citing local health officials, reported that the infections involve two children hospitalized at Children's Hospital New Orleans. The cases are Louisiana's first since 2018.

Several states have reported measles cases over the past several weeks, which follows a rise in global cases and gaps in vaccination.

Arizona reports 2 more measles infections

In related developments, two states that reported earlier cases have reported more measles infections. Arizona's Maricopa Department of Public Health today reported two more cases, bringing its total to three. The cases are related exposures reported earlier this month. Officials also warned of potential exposures at five locations in the Chandler area, mainly restaurants but also a car rental office and an auto body shop.

Measles clusters expand in UK

Elsewhere, the United Kingdom today updated its measles status, noting that 169 lab-confirmed cases have been reported since January 22. Most are from the West Midlands, particularly Birmingham, where an outbreak initially drove the United Kingdom's rise in cases.

The UK's Health Security Agency (HSA) said the outbreak in Birmingham is stabilizing, but clusters of cases in other regions are on the rise. The majority (65%) of cases are in children younger than 10.

The disease spreads very easily among those who are unvaccinated, especially in schools and nurseries.

Vanessa Saliba, MD, consultant epidemiologist at the HSA, said, "The disease spreads very easily among those who are unvaccinated, especially in schools and nurseries, however measles is completely preventable with vaccination."

Female pediatricians report more stress during pandemic

News brief

Stephanie Soucheray, MA

A new study from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) finds that female US pediatricians reported worse anxiety, sadness, and stress at work than their male colleagues, and the differences were more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study, published today in Pediatrics, was based on survey responses gathered during the AAP Pediatrician Life and Career Experience Study, which asked questions about career satisfaction and wellbeing from 2012 to 2021 among cohorts of 2002–2004 and 2009–2011 pediatric residency graduates.

A total of 1,760 respondents were included in the study, and they were surveyed twice per year. The survey included four measures of wellbeing: anxiety, sadness, stress at work, and stress balancing home and work. The survey also asked about general health.

The participants were 73.4% female, with both 80% of female and male respondents reporting general satisfaction with their careers.

Pandemic exacerbated anxiety

In the wellbeing categories, 22.6% of women and 14.2% of men reported feeling anxiety in the prepandemic years. After the pandemic began, 29.3% of women said they were anxious, compared with only 12.4% of men.

Similar trends were seen with sadness and stress at work. Male pediatricians reported little change in the pandemic years, while female pediatricians noted a significant increase.

Overall, female pediatricians reported twice as much stress as male pediatricians.

"Although we did not see a change in reported stress balancing home and work responsibilities during the pandemic, overall, female pediatricians reported twice as much stress as male pediatricians," the authors wrote. "Among pediatrics, which has a high rate of female physicians, there is a need for more attention on programs and policies at the organizational and structural levels designed to ameliorate these disparities and better support female pediatricians."