abcnews.com - An evolving community in the big city of Minneapolis is fighting a dangerous virus -- and a battle of beliefs.
The largest measles outbreak in the Minnesota city in 25 years, this April, affected 34 people primarily between the ages of 0 to 5, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Eleven have been hospitalized.
The majority, 29, of the measles cases were among Somali Minnesotans, according to the state health department, which has been working to improve vaccination rates in their community.
State and local officials have been searching for any other people exposed to the virus –- potentially 3,000 more -- who may be unvaccinated and vulnerable, to try and stop the spread of the disease.
While the overall vaccine compliance rate for Minnesota kindergartners is around 90 percent, it is only about 40 percent in the Somali community, according to Kris Ehresmann, director for infectious disease at the Minnesota Department of Health.
"We've known it's going to be a matter of time before something happens," she said about the recent outbreak.
In 2011, a similar outbreak occurred in the Somali community in Minnesota after a toddler who had visited Kenya contracted the virus. In that outbreak, 19 children and two adults were infected, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state health department.
A report from the American Academy of Pediatrics found that in the Minneapolis Somali community, the vaccination rate had dropped precipitously from over 90 percent in 2004 to 54 percent in 2010, likely helping that outbreak to spread.
Vaccination rates are believed to have dropped over concerns about autism, despite definitive research that refutes a link between vaccines and autism, according to Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and former state epidemiologist.
"Vaccinations have dropped drastically, but autism rates have stayed the same," Osterholm said about the sizable Somali population in Minneapolis.
Osterholm said that some groups who are skeptical about vaccines have expressed distrust in public health officials trying to stop the outbreak. In addition to other concerns, some have said the vaccinations are unnecessary because the measles outbreaks have ended quickly. Osterholm said the reason is the response and "thousands of hours" spent by public health workers to treat the sick and isolate and vaccinate people exposed to the virus.
But advocates for limiting or eliminating vaccinations have encouraged the Somali community in Minneapolis to be skeptical. (ontinueReading
Showing posts with label Mumps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mumps. Show all posts
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Friday, April 14, 2017
Texas warns about biggest mumps outbreak in 22 years
(CNN) The Texas Department of State Health Services warned this week of multiple ongoing mumps outbreaks. The surge, which includes 221 cases this year, constitutes the highest incidence of mumps in the state in 22 years.
Mumps is a contagious disease caused by a virus that spreads from person to person through saliva and mucus.
"What we've seen -- as in other parts of the country, (it's) really just the same thing -- a pretty big resurgence in mumps cases over the last six or eight months," said Chris Van Deusen, spokesman for the state's health services department. In 2016, Texas experienced 192 mumps cases, he said, primarily in the last few months of the year.
Mumps typically begins with fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite lasting a few days, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most people will have swelling of the salivary glands, causing puffy cheeks and a swollen jaw. Generally, symptoms last at least two days but no more than 10 days.
Because it is caused by a virus, mumps does not respond to antibiotics. Doctors generally recommend bed rest and over-the-counter pain relievers.
"We have largely seen outbreaks in North Texas, so the Dallas-Fort Worth area and some of the surrounding counties," Van Deusen said, adding that Dallas County has experienced two or three significant outbreaks.
"We've had quite a large one with, counting last year and this year, more than 150 cases in Johnson County, which is just south of Fort Worth," he said. "We've certainly seen cases in other areas of the state, but those have been where the largest outbreaks have been centered."
An outbreak in Johnson County, in particular, included 189 cases spanning last year and this year among children and a couple of college students, he said.
"There have been people who have traveled back and forth between (Johnson County) and Northwest Arkansas, where they've been seeing much of the activity, so it seems to be linked to that outbreak," Van Deusen said.
An outbreak of mumps began in Arkansas in August, explained Dr. Dirk Haselow, Arkansas' state epidemiologist. Between August and April 13, Arkansas reported 2,930 cases, he said. (Similarly, Washington state (PDF) has been hard hit by the mumps, reporting 611 confirmed and probable cases during 2017.)
"We've had less than 500 cases this year," said Haselow, who believes his state is at the tail end of its outbreak. "Thankfully, the number of cases we've had each week decreased recently. We've only added 14 cases in the last three weeks." At the height of the outbreak, nearly 50 cases a day were reported across 35 counties. Today, only four counties are experiencing infections.
As for a possible spread from his state to Texas, Haselow has no doubts.
"Mumps has a long incubation period, as long as 26 days between exposure and symptoms, so people could have been exposed, you know, a little over a month ago, and now you have new cases with that association," he said.
Across the nation, most mumps cases are occurring among people who have been vaccinated, according to the CDC, and these outbreaks are not due to low vaccination rates. For example, in Texas, 97.6% of kindergarten-age children have received two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, Van Deusen said, while 98.7% of seventh-graders have.
The CDC recommends that children get two doses of the MMR vaccine. One dose is considered about 78% effective initially (PDF), and two doses are about 88% effective. So even if you are vaccinated, you need to practice primary prevention.
Mumps is a contagious disease caused by a virus that spreads from person to person through saliva and mucus.
"What we've seen -- as in other parts of the country, (it's) really just the same thing -- a pretty big resurgence in mumps cases over the last six or eight months," said Chris Van Deusen, spokesman for the state's health services department. In 2016, Texas experienced 192 mumps cases, he said, primarily in the last few months of the year.
Mumps typically begins with fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite lasting a few days, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most people will have swelling of the salivary glands, causing puffy cheeks and a swollen jaw. Generally, symptoms last at least two days but no more than 10 days.
Because it is caused by a virus, mumps does not respond to antibiotics. Doctors generally recommend bed rest and over-the-counter pain relievers.
"We have largely seen outbreaks in North Texas, so the Dallas-Fort Worth area and some of the surrounding counties," Van Deusen said, adding that Dallas County has experienced two or three significant outbreaks.
"We've had quite a large one with, counting last year and this year, more than 150 cases in Johnson County, which is just south of Fort Worth," he said. "We've certainly seen cases in other areas of the state, but those have been where the largest outbreaks have been centered."
An outbreak in Johnson County, in particular, included 189 cases spanning last year and this year among children and a couple of college students, he said.
"There have been people who have traveled back and forth between (Johnson County) and Northwest Arkansas, where they've been seeing much of the activity, so it seems to be linked to that outbreak," Van Deusen said.
An outbreak of mumps began in Arkansas in August, explained Dr. Dirk Haselow, Arkansas' state epidemiologist. Between August and April 13, Arkansas reported 2,930 cases, he said. (Similarly, Washington state (PDF) has been hard hit by the mumps, reporting 611 confirmed and probable cases during 2017.)
"We've had less than 500 cases this year," said Haselow, who believes his state is at the tail end of its outbreak. "Thankfully, the number of cases we've had each week decreased recently. We've only added 14 cases in the last three weeks." At the height of the outbreak, nearly 50 cases a day were reported across 35 counties. Today, only four counties are experiencing infections.
As for a possible spread from his state to Texas, Haselow has no doubts.
"Mumps has a long incubation period, as long as 26 days between exposure and symptoms, so people could have been exposed, you know, a little over a month ago, and now you have new cases with that association," he said.
Across the nation, most mumps cases are occurring among people who have been vaccinated, according to the CDC, and these outbreaks are not due to low vaccination rates. For example, in Texas, 97.6% of kindergarten-age children have received two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, Van Deusen said, while 98.7% of seventh-graders have.
The CDC recommends that children get two doses of the MMR vaccine. One dose is considered about 78% effective initially (PDF), and two doses are about 88% effective. So even if you are vaccinated, you need to practice primary prevention.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)