Measles outbreak leads to worries about travel
Summer camps, social outings draw attention
This year’s resurgence of measles has caused health officials at the Centers for Disease Control to focus their concerns on summer camps and travel.
Reported measles cases exceeded 1,000 in the first six months of 2019 – the highest number in 27 years, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The total in the U.S. has grown to 1,022, the CDC reported. That’s the highest since 1992, when there were 2,200 cases nationwide.
Cases have been reported in 28 states, and outbreaks are ongoing in seven communities, according to the CDC. Factors that may prompt outbreaks include a greater number of travelers who contract the disease abroad and more cases spreading in communities with groups of unvaccinated people.
The resurgence of measles has caused widespread concern and a surge of proposed laws. Officials in the New York City suburb of Rockland County barred minors not vaccinated for measles from public places for 30 days, and Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency in Washington.
Thomas Clark, deputy director of the CDC’s Division of Viral Diseases, said measles isn’t widespread. He said about 94% of kindergartners in the U.S. received the recommended two doses of the measles vaccine.
The CDC’s concerns about the spread of measles will focus more on summer camps and travel while schools are out for the summer, Clark said.
“We can’t rely on the summer months to stop and slow down the spread of measles,” Clark said. “We’re worried about summer camps and summer travel.”
Clark advised people traveling abroad to check out their vaccination status.
“I hope people continue to be confident in vaccination,” he said.
Ogbonnaya Omenka, an associate professor and public health specialist at Butler University, echoed Clark’s concerns about summer travel and noted the risk that comes with increased social interaction in public spaces.
“Travel has played a significant role in the current outbreak. The summer holiday comes with more local and international travel, which may result in exposure to measles,” Omenka wrote to USA TODAY.
“Also, social interactions are more likely during the summer, such as attendance at parks and recreation destinations, and neighborhood gatherings.”
Omenka spoke on the importance of understanding the social and behavioral factors affecting the outbreak. He said a consequence of media and public health officials focusing on “anti-vaxxers” could be a distrust of medical institutions.
“Concentrating on, or making scapegoats of, certain groups may result in unintended outcomes, such as increased distrust or anti-establishment sentiments and insularity,” Omenka wrote.