“The increased number of measles importations seen in recent weeks is reflective of a rise in global measles cases and a growing global threat from the disease,” the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a Jan. 25 bulletin to health care providers.
U.S. healthcare providers should be on alert for patients with symptoms of measles amid a global rise in cases of the disease, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
The CDC has been notified of 23 confirmed cases of measles since Dec. 1, including seven cases from international travelers and two outbreaks involving more than five cases each, the agency said in a Clinician Outbreak and Community Activity email sent to health care providers.
The Philadelphia Department of Public Health is tracking an ongoing measles outbreak, with nine confirmed cases, the agency said in a Jan. 22 press release. Two recent outbreaks occurred, one at a hospital and one at a day care center, both in December, according to a Jan. 26 update from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). More than half of the cases were among children.