Unvaccinated afflicted with measles in New Jersey, Kentucky
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Several states have reported measles outbreaks largely among unvaccinated people in Kentucky, New Jersey, Texas and New Mexico. (Photo credit: Airman 1st Class Matthew Lotz/U.S. Air Force)
Feb. 27 (UPI) -- New measles cases have been confirmed in New Jersey and Kentucky with the one common factor being a lack of measles vaccinations.
New Jersey health officials on Thursday announced two new measles cases in addition to another known case.
A Bergen County resident who recently traveled internationally while unvaccinated against the measles virus was confirmed to be sick with measles on Feb. 14.
That person visited the Englewood Hospital emergency room on Feb. 9 between 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. EST and might have exposed others to the virus.
The two new confirmed cases in New Jersey are people who the New Jersey Department of Health said had been in close contact with the original patient in Bergen County.
The original patient also visited the Hackensack University Medical Center and an urgent care provider in Fort Lee.
A spokesperson for the Hackensack facility said the patient was a child who had been transferred from another hospital and was placed in isolation.
Public health authorities examined the staff at the Hackensack facility and confirmed the hospitals staff were vaccinated and immune to the measles virus and no other patients were directly exposed.
The two individuals who also were confirmed to have measles also are unvaccinated and have been placed in isolation.
All three of the New Jersey cases are family members, a local health official told ABC News.
Dr. Frank Esper, Infectious Diseases Specialist at Cleveland Clinic Children’s, speaks on the recent outbreak of measles in Texas which has resulted in the first official death.
One measles case confirmed in Kentucky
An unidentified adult in Kentucky has tested positive for measles after traveling overseas to an area with ongoing measles transmission, the Kentucky Department of Public Health announced Wednesday.
The announcement did not cite any other measles cases in the commonwealth but said the afflicted person went to a local gym while infectious and the Public Health Department is working to contact anyone who might have been exposed.
"Measles is one of the most contagious viruses in the world," KDPH Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said in the news release. "Fortunately,measles can be prevented with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, which is safe and effective."
The afflicted person worked out at the Planet Fitness gym on Allen Way in Frankfort on Feb. 17 from 9a.m. to 12:15 p.m. local time while infectious.
Anyone who was at the gym at that time might have been exposed to the measles virus.
The last confirmed case of measles in Kentucky was in February 2023.
Texas reports nation's first measles death in 10 years
More measles cases have been identified as 124 have fallen ill in Texas, resulting in the nation's first measles death in a decade.
An unvaccinated school-aged child died while hospitalized with measles in Lubbock, Texas, and the state has had 124 confirmed cases, including 18 who have been hospitalized.
The number of measles cases in Texas has doubled since last week as the D8 measles strain has arrived in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Texas Department of State Health Services announced Wednesday.
The D8 strain has been circulating in Europe and the eastern Mediterranean region and impacted West Texas before spreading to San Antonio and San Marcos.
Health officials in nearby New Mexico also are dealing with a measles outbreak in Lea County, which is located near Gaines County, Texas.
The New Mexico outbreak has afflicted at least nine in Lea County, including four who are between ages 5 and 17 and five who are 18 or older, according to the New Mexico Department of Health.
Free measles vaccines are available in Lea County at the Hobbs Public Health Office.
The CDC recommends all people receive two vaccine doses starting with one between 12 months and 15 months of age followed by a booster between ages 4 and 6.
One does is 93% effective at preventing measles infections while the booster makes the vaccine 978% effective.
Most adults who have been vaccinated don't need a booster shot for the disease that the CDC in 2000 declared had been eliminated in the United States.
Vaccination rates have declined in recent years, which has helped measles spread in the nation.
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