Three measles clusters have ended: CDC

While health monitoring had shown no new measles infections from the clusters, the disease is increasing globally, including elsewhere in Asia

Three measles clusters have ended, as no new infections have been detected among close contacts of people diagnosed with the disease, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that eligibility for the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) has been expanded to two groups of elderly people.

CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that no new measles cases were reported last week, with nine cases — five local and four imported — reported prior to that this year, with three clusters identified.

CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said that as of Sunday, health monitoring of 1,918 close contacts of the people diagnosed with the disease had ended, with no new infections reported among them.

That indicates the clusters have settled, Tseng said.

However, measles is increasing globally, the CDC said, adding that so far this year, 11 cases have been reported in Japan, 13 in South Korea and 81 in China.

In North America, 64 cases have been reported in the US and at least 40 in Canada, while in Europe, more than 7,000 cases have been reported in Romania, more than 500 in the UK and more than 200 in Austria, exceeding the full-year totals of the past few years, it said.

Moreover, there were 103,000 hospital visits for flu-like illness last week, slightly fewer than the previous week, but it was still the second-highest weekly number for the same week of the year in a decade, Guo said.

Nineteen people had serious flu complications and six flu-related deaths were reported last week, he said.

While flu activity is gradually dropping from a plateau, there are still serious cases being reported, so people should continue to take precautions, Tseng said, adding that expanded eligibility for antivirals would be extended to April 30, allowing people with flu-like symptoms and their close contacts — ie, family members, colleagues and classmates — diagnosed with the flu to receive antiviral drugs.

With 281 people hospitalized with COVID-19 last week, or about 30 percent down from 409 the previous week, COVID-19 activity is also dropping, she said.

Local COVID-19 activity is now in the “yellow” phase and if cases continue to drop for two weeks, it would enter the “green” phase, she said, using a traffic light metaphor.

Meanwhile, eligibility to receive government-funded PPSV23 shots has been expanded following the recommendations of an Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting, Tseng said.

The committee recommended that in addition to high-risk groups, those eligible to receive the PPSV23 shot at least eight weeks after a dose of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) would be expanded to people aged 65 or older if they are residents of care facilities — including nursing homes, psychiatric homes, welfare centers, institutions for people with disabilities, long-term care facilities and veterans’ homes — or undergoing dialysis, she said.

Before the adjustment, elderly people were eligible for a dose of PPSV23 at least one year after a dose of PCV13, unless they were classified as being at high risk from the disease.

The changes would improve protection of elderly people, while about 84,000 people in care facilities and 47,000 people on dialysis would benefit, she said.

As of Sunday, 97 cases of invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae had been reported this year, with 10 people having died, CDC data showed.

Thirty-three percent of the cases were elderly people, the data showed.