2015 – Spring, Measles, Clallam County, WA — 1

 — 1  USA Today (Liz Szabo). “Measles kills first patient in 12 years.” 7-3-2015.

Narrative Information

USA Today: “The USA has suffered its first measles death in 12 years, according to Washington state health officials. The woman’s measles was undetected and confirmed only through an autopsy, according to the Washington State Department of Health. The woman’s name was not released, but officials said she lived in Clallam County. The woman was probably exposed to measles at a medical facility during a measles outbreak this spring, according to the health department. She was at the hospital at the same time as a patient who later developed a rash and was diagnosed with measles. Patients with measles can spread the virus even before showing symptoms.

“The woman, who died of pneumonia, had other health conditions and was taking medications that suppressed her immune system, the health department said. Pneumonia is one of several serious common complications of measles and the most common cause of death from the virus, said William Schaffner, a professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville. Measles kills one or two children out of every 1,000 infected, according to the CDC…..

“The woman’s death was a preventable, but predictable, consequence of falling vaccination rates, said Peter Hotez, president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development in Houston.

“A measles outbreak that began at Disneyland over the Christmas holidays in December spread across the country, including to Washington state. So far this year, 178 people have been diagnosed with measles, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Some states have reacted to the outbreaks by passing laws to require more children to be vaccinated. Both California and Vermont this year repealed exemptions that allowed unvaccinated children to attend school because of their parents’ personal beliefs.

“A USA TODAY investigation earlier this year found that Washington’s vaccination levels may not be high enough to prevent outbreaks. Communities need to vaccinate at least 92% of children to prevent outbreaks, said Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. In Washington state in 2013-2014, one-third of the 1,634 schools with kindergartens had vaccination levels for kindergartners under 90%, USA TODAY found. An additional 263 schools did not have up-to-date vaccination records for that school year when the state provided USA TODAY data this February. The statewide vaccination rate for the nearly 84,000 kindergartners whose records were collected was 89.5%….” (USA Today (Liz Szabo). “Measles kills first patient in 12 years.” 7-3-2015.)

Source

USA Today (Liz Szabo). “Measles kills first patient in 12 years.” 7-3-2015. Accessed 5-7-2016 at: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/07/02/measles-death-washington-state/29624385/