The measles outbreak that began in Texas before extending to at least two other states increased to 355 cases confirmed on Friday, and the authorities say there is no sign that it slows down.
“I worry that I am getting worse,” said Katherine Wells, director of Public Health at Lubbock, A NBC News.
Many people are not being tested for measles, and efforts to increase vaccination in affected areas have received a warm response, Wells said during a media conference of the Big Cities health coalition on Tuesday.
Wells said he thought it could be a year until the outbreak is controlled.
The outbreak that began in western Texas at the end of January has now infected 309 people in 14 Texas counties. “All cases in these counties are related to each other,” Wells said, added: “We are going to see mini sprouts” as the virus extends without control.
Measles is doing what measles does: look for everyone and all who are not vaccinated against the virus and infect them.
Almost all the people who have ill has been children and adolescents never vaccinated against the virus. At least 40 patients have been hospitalized.
Neighbor New Mexico reported 42 cases on Friday. Twenty of the people in New Mexico were 18 years old, eight were 4 or less. And until Tuesday, Oklahoma had confirmed four cases related to the outbreak. All were not vaccinated or it was not clear if they had received the shots.
Two people, a 6 -year -old girl in Texas and an adult in New Mexico, have died. The epicenter of the outbreak, the Gaines County, Texas, has one of the highest vaccine exemption rates of the State, with almost 18%, according to data from the Department of Health.
Vaccine clinics have been established in the county, but absorption has not been robust, Wells said. Many families in the area remain firm with long fears that vaccines cause autism, he said.
Now is the moment, Wells said during Tuesday’s informative session, so that the health departments throughout the country increase their vaccination rates.
“Measles will find those pockets of unvaccinated individuals, and with the amount of cases and capacity for people to travel, there is a risk of entering other non -vaccinated pockets anywhere in the United States at this time,” he said.
Kansas has reported 10 measles cases in three counties that border Oklahoma. These cases have not been officially linked to the current outbreak.
Cases linked to the outbreak have been informed, but to international trips in Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont and Washington.
“Measles will find a way to continue transmitting until it is left without a susceptible population,” said Dr. Brian Borah, medical director of the surveillance of preventable diseases of vaccines in the Department of Public Health of Chicago.
The only thing that will stop a national outbreak is a massive effort to find people who do not vaccinate and receive the shots as soon as possible, said Dr. Simbo IGE, commissioner of the Department of Public Health of Chicago, during the informative session on Tuesday.
“The duration of the outbreak depends on their ability to identify all those who are vulnerable, determine if they have been exposed and then how fast vaccination begins,” IGE said.
Last year, IgE’s team faced a measles outbreak that finally infected 64 people, mainly associated with a housing shelter in Chicago.
The Health Department recruited community health workers and other trusted members in the area, as politicians and faith leaders, to encourage vaccination, Borah said.
“We put people in the shelter that we knew they were trusted messengers,” he said. Almost all those who had not been vaccinated received the shots.
In two months, the outbreak was over.
How the virus develops and causes symptoms
Measles is one of the most contagious viruses in the world. When an infected person coughs, sneezes or even breathes, small viral particles are thrown through the air, and remain there, floating for hours.
“If I am only sitting in my office and speaking, I am throwing viruses,” said Dr. Ronald Cook, Health Director of the Center for Health Sciences of the University of Texas Tech in Lubbock and the senior health official of the city, explaining how easily the measles spreads. “If my door is open, that virus can leave my office and go out to the hall. Someone who walks down the hall can be infected.”
Once a person is infected, the virus is silent silently in the body for approximately seven to 14 days without causing symptoms. This is called the incubation period.
Around day 10 or 11, the immune system of the body becomes overwhelmed and symptoms are developed, including a cough, nasal secretion, high fevers of up to 103 and 104 degrees and inflamed red eyes. “Think about the pink eye, but worse,” Cook said.
Then, small white points called Koplik points appear in the mouth and extend towards the lungs, causing inflammation. That is why babies and young children in particular run the risk of breathing. Their small respiratory paths cannot handle so much inflammation. At this point, the virus can cause bacterial pneumonia.
It is not until several days after the characteristic measles eruption begins: angry and red spots that begin at the top of the head and make their way through the body.
At that time, the patient has already infected vulnerable people. An infected person propagates the virus four days before the eruption appears, as well as four days later. That is why it is a mistake, Cook said, thinking about measles as “only one eruption.”
Measles vaccination guidelines
Two doses of the measles, paper and rubella (MMR) vaccine are 97% effective to prevent infection, according to centers for disease control and prevention. The first dose is administered around age 1, which offers 93%protection, but the second does not occur until around 5 years, when a child enters the kindergarten. That leaves children slightly vulnerable for several years that are between dose.
However, the general rules change during an outbreak.
Doctors have the option of giving the second early dose if a child has been exposed to the virus. Pediatricians can deliver the vaccine to babies for at least 6 months, doctors say, but they will still need the two standard doses when they are old enough.
