Maryland health officials issued a warning on Sunday to anyone who passed through Washington Dulles International Airport or was in the Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center Pediatric Emergency Department after a case of measles was detected in a state resident who recently traveled internationally.
Why It Matters
Measles is an airborne, “extremely infectious, and potentially severe rash illness,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ). Up to 9 out of 10 people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed.
The U.S. declared measles eliminated in 2000 “thanks to a very high percentage of people receiving the safe and effective measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine,” the CDC said. However, U.S. coverage among children of kindergarten age has fallen below the 95 percent coverage target, which creates a higher risk for outbreaks of the virus. As a result, cases of measles are rising across the country.
Before the creation of the MMR vaccine, between 400 and 500 people in the U.S. died from measles each year, and 48,000 people were hospitalized, the CDC said…