News from the FDA/CDC

New measles outbreaks reported in Los Angeles and El Paso


 

The week ending July 18 brought an increase in the number of cases, the number of outbreaks, and the number of states with cases in 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Number of measles cases reported to the CDC

The total number of confirmed cases of measles in the United States is now up to 1,148 for the year, which is 25 more than the previous week, the CDC said on July 22. The highest 1-week total for the year was the 90 cases reported during the week of April 11.

The number of outbreaks is back up to five as California returned to the list after a 1-week absence and El Paso, Tex., made its first appearance of the year. The current outbreak in California – the state’s fifth – is occurring in Los Angeles, which is now up to 16 total cases in 2019. El Paso just reported its fourth case on July 17, and the city’s health department noted that “it had been more than 25 years since El Paso saw its last case of measles before these four recent cases.” Outbreaks also are ongoing in Rockland County, N.Y.; New York City; and three counties in Washington State.

States that joined the ranks of the measles-infected during this most recent reporting week were Alaska and Ohio, which brings the total number to 30 for the year, the CDC said.

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services said that it “has confirmed a single case of measles in an unvaccinated teenager from the Kenai Peninsula who recently traveled out of state to Arizona via Seattle.” The Ohio case is a “young adult from Stark County [who] recently traveled to a state with confirmed measles cases,” according to the state’s health department.

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