U.S. measles numbers continue to climb, nearing record

The number of outbreaks—defined as three or more epidemiologically related cases—that the CDC is tracking remained at six, and some of the rise in new cases reflects new totals in those outbreaks.

For example, in an outbreak centered in New York’s Rockland County, officials reported 13 more cases that lift the outbreak total to 199. And in Michigan, an outbreak that began in the middle of March now stands at 43 confirmed cases as of Apr 17.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) said the event involves 40 cases in Oakland County, 1 in Wayne County, and 1 in Detroit. It also notes that that measles was diagnosed in an international traveler who visited Washtenaw County when he was contagious.

Michigan’s measles cases mainly involve adults, but sick patients range in age from 8 months to 63 years.

Hospitalized Israeli flight attendant
In global measles developments, Israeli health officials said last week that a 43-year-old woman working as a flight attendant is in a coma after contracting measles and developing encephalitis, a potentially deadly complication marked by inflammation of the brain, according an 17 April CNN report.

The flight attendant works for El Al, Israel’s national airline, and may have been exposed to measles in New York, in Israel, or on a flight connecting the two locations, Itamar Grotto, associate director general for Israel’s health ministry, told CNN. The woman is in the intensive care unit at Meir Medical Center near Tel Aviv.

Her symptoms began with a fever on 31 March, and she was hospitalized the same day, according to the CNN report, which also quoted authorities as saying they believed she was vaccinated as a child.

Twelve PAHO nations reporting cases

In its latest update on measles, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said 12 countries in the Americas region have reported measles cases this year, the same number as for all of 2018. The countries are Argentina, the Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, the United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

For 2019, Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela continue to report cases linked to the same genotype and lineage, marking continued circulation of the virus. Measles infections in the other nine countries reflect imported cases from outside of the region involving different genotypes.