State officials in Utah report 84 measles cases in the state in a weekly update today, an increase of 10 since last week. All 10 of the new cases come from southwest Utah, where an outbreak has simmered for weeks that also involves residents of Mohave County, Arizona.
Southwest Utah now has 68 infections.
5 new cases in South Carolina
Besides the Utah-Arizona outbreak, South Carolina continues to see an uptick in measles activity in the Upstate region, where exposures at two schools with low vaccination rates among the student body fueled an outbreak that began in September.
Today the South Carolina Department of Health reported five new cases in Spartanburg County, which has been the epicenter of that state's measles activity. The new cases raise the state's total to 52 cases, 49 of which have been in Spartanburg County.
"Two of the five cases are household members of known measles cases who were in quarantine. The other three are the result of as-yet unknown sources of transmission," the state said in an update. "The unidentified sources of the three new cases emphasizes the risk of ongoing community transmission in South Carolina. Travel for the upcoming holidays may increase the risk of exposures greatly for those traveling and for those accepting visitors."
Officials said there are currently 84 people in quarantine in South Carolina.
If those currently in quarantine join family gatherings during the Thanksgiving holiday, we may see many more cases during the Christmas holidays.
"We remind people that the majority of cases thus far occurred among those in quarantine who became ill and spread measles to their household members. If those currently in quarantine join family gatherings during the Thanksgiving holiday, we may see many more cases during the Christmas holidays," state officials warned.
West Texas measles strain seeded in other US outbreaks
In related news, the New York Times yesterday noted that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials said on a phone call with state health officials that the United States could lose its measles elimination status in January.
Though the West Texas measles outbreak that begin in January and resulted in nearly 750 infections was declared over in August, the strain that caused the outbreak has been seeded and is circulating in parts of the United States, which puts the elimination status at risk.
Now, the Times is reporting that CDC officials publicly linked the measles strain seen in West Texas to the ongoing Utah-Arizona outbreak. Reporters from the newspaper obtained a recording of the call.
Last week Canada lost its elimination status, which it achieved in 1998, after recording more than 5,000 cases. The United States achieved elimination in 2000. Currently the country has 1,723 measles cases, and 87% of confirmed cases are part of an outbreak.
