Health leaders in the US are telling doctors to be ready because more people are getting measles, which is a sickness that can spread very quickly. They are also telling families who want to travel to places where measles is common to make sure their little kids get a shot to protect them from measles before they leave.
The group in charge of keeping people healthy in the US called the CDC, sent out a message to doctors on Monday. They want doctors to know that measles is spreading to many countries and to give babies their shots earlier than usual if their families are going to travel to other countries.
This message is important because a lot of people travel during the spring and summer. Some places that a lot of Americans like to visit, like Austria, the Philippines, Romania, and the UK, have a lot of measles cases right now, according to the CDC.
The CDC is also worried because, in 36 states in the US, not enough kids in kindergarten are getting their measles shots. They say at least 95% of kids need to get the shot to stop measles from spreading to lots of people, which is called herd immunity.
Dr. Nirav Shah, who helps lead the CDC, says that the vaccination rate for measles has slightly decreased from 95% to 93%. This small change indicates that a majority of the population still maintains immunity against measles. While a 2% drop might seem minor, it translates to approximately 250,000 kindergarten-aged children who are now at risk of contracting measles because they have not been vaccinated. Despite the decrease, the overall vaccination rate suggests that most people in the US remain protected against measles.
The shots for measles work really well. If you get two shots, it’s 97% likely you won’t get measles, and even one shot is 93% effective.
Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, who is the head of a big group of doctors, says that all the research shows that getting vaccinated is one of the best ways to keep from getting sick and to keep everyone healthy. He said this in an email.
CDC has new advice for people traveling to other countries
The CDC has new advice for people traveling to other countries. They say you should see a doctor 6 weeks before your trip to make sure you’re fully vaccinated. Before, they said a month was enough.
Babies usually get their first shot for measles, mumps, and rubella at 1 year old. Now, the CDC says to do it a bit earlier to keep them safe from these very contagious diseases.
Kids who haven’t had their shots and are 1 year or older should get two doses of the measles vaccine, 28 days apart, before they go on a trip.
The measles virus can stay in the air for 2 hours after someone with measles has been there. You can get sick if you touch something the virus is on and then touch your face. You can spread measles 4 days before and after the rash shows up.
If you’re around someone with measles and you’re not immune, you’ll probably get it too.
If you travel and get a rash, fever, cough, runny nose, or red eyes, go to the doctor. But tell them first, so they can stop the virus from spreading.
The CDC says 46 countries have a lot of measles cases right now. The US doesn’t usually have measles, but people still get it when they travel and bring it back. This year, there have been 58 cases in the US, which is as many as all of last year.
Measles can be seen in Chicago, California, Arizona, Florida, and Pennsylvania
The CDC tells travelers to get vaccinated 2 weeks before leaving or make sure they’ve had measles before. Measles can be really bad for everyone and can cause things like pneumonia or even death. It’s worse for little kids, older adults, pregnant women, and people who are already sick.
Because of Covid-19, a lot of kids missed their shots. This makes it easier for measles to spread. The CDC says over 61 million shots were missed.
Measles cases have gone up a lot around the world. In 2022, there were less than 1,000 cases in the WHO European area, which includes parts of Asia. The next year, there were over 30,000 cases.
The new numbers from the WHO show that the number of measles cases rose by 18% around the world last year, to a total of about 9 million. At the same time, the number of deaths from measles rose by 43%, to an estimated 136,000.