Authorities work to contain measles scare

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDFeb 28 2011

Health authorities are trying to prevent an outbreak of measles after a woman carrying the transmissible infection travelled widely throughout the United States. The lady in question, 27, allegedly contracted the airborne virus in the United Kingdom and arrived in the United States last week, passing through three U.S. airports on her way to New Mexico, where she is believed to reside. She arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport on Tuesday, February 22, from London. She then flew to Denver International Airport and ended at Albuquerque International Airport in New Mexico. This information was revealed by Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta.

Skinner said, “The work is going on to reach those individuals that were sitting in close proximity to the infected person… We need to reach those that were within five rows in front and five rows behind the infected person.” He added, “Measles is a highly contagious disease and for some people it can be pretty serious. So we need reach out to those that are at risk.” William Schaffner, chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt Medical School said, “Public health authorities consider this a medical urgency, if not an emergency. They will do everything they can to track down everyone to see if they are indeed protected.”

Measles takes about 18 days to develop, so the actual extent of exposure remains to be seen. Those infected will experience a fever, runny nose, cough and develop a rash, according to the CDC’s website. People who had been in Denver International Airport’s concourse C should look for symptoms with onset expected between March 1 and March 12. Measles is caused by a virus and it kills nearly 200,000 people each year around the world and is a leading cause of death among children in the developing world. Those who have had an active measles infection or who have been vaccinated against the measles have immunity to the disease.

In another similar incident, around 180 people have been vaccinated in a Boston office building where another infected woman traveling from France went to work while contagious with measles.