Measles Outbreak in Utah and Arizona Threatens U.S.'s Elimination Status
The strain circulating in the two states is the same as the one that caused the West Texas outbreak that ended in August and sickened almost 750 people.
Utah state officials have reported 10 new measles cases over the last week, pushing the state’s total number of cases to 84. CIDRAP has the news.
An outbreak has “simmered for weeks” in southwest Utah, which now has 68 total infections.
South Carolina has also continued to see an increase in measles activity. Exposures at two schools in the state with “low vaccination rates among the student body fueled an outbreak that began in September.” 49 of the 52 cases in the state are in Spartanburg County. The state department of health said that “the majority of cases thus far occurred among those in quarantine who became ill and spread measles to their household members.”
CDC officials are also warning that the U.S. may “lose its measles elimination status in January.” The strain that caused the measles outbreak in West Texas resulting in nearly 750 infections has been “seeded and is circulating in parts of the U.S.” even though the outbreak itself ended in August. The ongoing Utah-Arizona outbreak has been “publicly linked” to the strain. This news comes on the heels of Canada losing its elimination status after 27 years.
