The number of US measles cases since Jan 1 has reached at least 154, an increase of 13 in the past week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its weekly update, and 118 of those cases are linked to Disneyland in California.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today that 141 measles cases have been reported so far this year, an increase of 20 since the agency's previous update on Feb 9.
Most of the cases—113 (80%)—are part of a multistate outbreak that originated with exposures at Disneyland, the CDC said. (The update does not name Disneyland, instead referring to it as an amusement park in California.)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 4 new US measles cases related to Disney theme park visits, bringing the outbreak total to 125, according to a Feb 13 update in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
Amid a widespread measles outbreak, the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) is considering recommending that physicians be compensated for counseling parents about the importance of childhood vaccines, Bloomberg News reported yesterday.
The committee is also looking at a recommendation that would set a minimum vaccination coverage goal for clinicians, the story said.
Health officials in the Philippines reported a case of MERS in a Filipino nurse who recently returned from Saudi Arabia, according to a Reuters story today.
The nurse returned to the Philippines last week and presented with a fever, body pain, cough, and difficulty breathing. She was diagnosed with MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) and is currently hospitalized in stable condition, the story said.
Officials confirm 4 new cases in California—107 total—and 1 in Chicago.
The resurgence of cases has stoked concerns the virus could become endemic again.
California officials yesterday confirmed 7 new measles cases in an outbreak that began in December, bringing the case total for the state to 99, while 5 babies at a Chicago-area daycare have also been diagnosed as having the disease.
Also yesterday, the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) pointed out the states having the lowest measles vaccination coverage in toddlers.
California officials today said they have confirmed 92 measles cases since December, 59 of which are linked to visiting Disneyland, bringing the US total to more than 100 cases, while Toronto has confirmed 4 cases not linked to each other or to travel outside the country.
January's new cases alone top the total from some entire years, as outbreak spreads to 14 states.
