Health officials track measles exposure at three U.S. airports

[Haole Girl]

Source: Reuters

BOSTON (Reuters) – State health officials are trying to track down travelers who may have been exposed to measles after a passenger who was contagious passed through three major U.S. airports.

A woman with a confirmed case of measles traveled from the United Kingdom through Washington Dulles International Airport, Denver International Airport and on to Albuquerque International Airport last week, said Tom Skinner, spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC has provided state health officials with information about passengers on those flights to begin tracing who may have had contact and if immunizations are current, said Skinner.

On Friday, Colorado health officials issued a warning to travelers and workers at Denver International Airport of possible exposure to the passenger who is from New Mexico and was at the airport for several hours on Tuesday night.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110226/ts_nm/us_measles

[xchrom]

1. Scary. Nt

[Haole Girl]

3. I guess measels might be making a comeback in the U.S.

Here is a related article:

http://www.safetyissues.com/site/children/is_measles_making_a_comeback.html

[TygrBright]

2. What is annoying me about the way they are handling this...

...is that none of the official communications so far state whether the type of measles involved is rubella or rubeola.

It makes some difference, especially if any of the exposed individuals were women who might be pregnant.

irritatedly,
Bright

[Haole Girl]

4. I noticed that too...

it is very limited information.

[trud]

6. I realize of course that not everyone has access to health care

but decades ago my obgyn did German measles tests on all his pregnancy-age patients and advised us to go get exposed if we were not pregnant and had been negative. Nowadays there's a vaccine.

[Gormy Cuss]

9. Yes, that's annoying.

It matters also because not all have the same level of immunity to both types.

[uppityperson]

5. I think they are talking rubeola (hard measles) vs rubella (german measles)

reading articles one said something about Koplik's spots which are with rubeola (measles) vs german measles (rubella)

http://empowerednews.net/measles-symptoms-confirmed-in-passenger-of-london-flight/186186/

[SkyDaddy7]

7. Good Luck to the Anti-Vaccine folks out there...

Is the United Kingdom anti-vaccine delusion worse than it is here? The piece said the lady came from the UK...I would be worried if I lived in these areas & had not vaccinated my children...Scary stuff!

[Gormy Cuss]

8. The anti vaxxers can point to the vaccine as the reason so many are at risk.

Many people do not get the boosters necessary when one's immunity comes from vaccination. Those who actually have had the disease are nearly always immune for life.