United States: Health authorities have said that a man, also in his 40s that resides in South Carolina got infected with measles after he was involved in an international flight on Thursday.
DPH received a letter from the CDC on Sept. 12 informing it that SC residents were onboard an international flight with a person who had measles. Delay due to the labour day holiday, the test results released by DPH’s laboratory on Sept 16th has confirmed for the case and DPH will inform those who have been in contact with the infected case.
Importance of Vaccination Against Measles
As reported by the wltx.com, vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) is usually given to children in two doses: The first one is at 12-15 months while the second immunization is usually given at 4-6years. While MMR vaccines have ensured that measles is rather rare in the United State, cases of the disease in the other countries have led to the transportation of the illness here within the past few years.
Everyone who wants to travel outside the U.S should seek advice of a health care provider regarding immunization. If you are visiting a country where measles outbreak is common then for those who are 6-12 months of age should take an early dose of MMR vaccine. Among the preventive care, which must be taken by people of all ages, it is necessary to mention the availability of the appropriate vaccinations.
The Severity of Measles and Preventive Measures
Measles is an extremely infectious and severe disease that originates from the respiratory tract by a virus,” said Dr Linda Bell, state epidemiologist of the DPH. “This is why it is important to ensure high vaccination rate given the fact that unexpected contact is often with many passengers in the involved flight In as much as there many ways of preventing a measles outbreak, research has shown that vaccination is the most effective measure against the epidemic.”
“I would like to urge everyone to ensure that they are up to date on all recommended vaccinations.”
Per DPH, measles is a viral illness with a high capacity for transmittance by air borne droplets through talking, coughing and sneezing by those infected with it. These include fever, cough, and running nose and a rash which normally persists for five or six days. In most cases measles has a spontaneous cure, however, all patients who are affected are likely to be hospitalized in their twenties.