Good Morning Dr. Julie Staats. Here are todays top stories. Friday, April 25, 2014 Leading the News Number of measles cases increasing at a rate not seen in nearly two decades. Two major television networks, major newspapers and consumer health media outlets covered a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the April 25 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report showing that measles is on the upswing in the US. Together, the two television news segments devoted over five minutes to the story, focusing on the public health implications of a growing number of people who have not been vaccinated. NBC Nightly News (4/24, lead story, 3:25, Williams) reported, “A disease once thought to be gone in the United States is making a comeback.” The number of US youngsters with measles “is spiking, along with mumps and” pertussis. The CDC’s Dr. Anne Schuchat was shown saying, “We’re concerned already in the first four months of the year, we’re breaking records.” ABC World News (4/25, story 3, 1:55, Sawyer) reported that there are now measles outbreaks in “13 states,” with New York and California the states affected the most. Measles cases are “growing at a pace not seen in nearly 20 years.” ABC News chief medical editor Richard Besser, MD, explained that international travel by unvaccinated persons to places experiencing outbreaks, such as the Philippines, as well as the growing number of US children who are not vaccinated, are behind the increase in measles cases. USA Today (4/25, Szabo) reports that “doubts about vaccines safety – and fading memories of vaccine-preventable diseases — have contributed to a resurgence of nearly forgotten diseases such as measles, which was officially declared eradicated in the USA in 2000.” Infectious disease specialist William Schaffner, of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said, “Young parents today haven’t seen these diseases, and they don’t respect and fear them.” The Washington Post (4/25, Bernstein) “To Your Health” blog reports, “There have been no measles deaths reported from the outbreak in the United States, and none since 2003.” Nevertheless, Dr. “Schuchat acknowledged that ‘it’s probably just a numbers game, probably just a matter of time until we have more.’” According to the CDC, “one or two of every 1,000 cases of measles are fatal.” The AP (4/25, Stobbe) reports that “decades of measles vaccination campaigns have been so successful that many doctors have never seen a case, don’t realize how contagious it is, and may not take necessary steps to stop it from spreading.” Eleven cases of measles in California appear to have been acquired “in doctor’s offices, hospitals or other health-care settings, according to” the CDC’s report, and “New York City health officials say two of their 26 cases were infected in medical facilities.” The Boston Globe (4/25, Kotz) “Daily Dose” blog points out that in a commentary published April 24 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, infectious disease specialist Dr. Julia Shaklee Sammons, of the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania, cautioned healthcare professionals to “‘maintain a high level of suspicion for measles’ in those with a fever and rash who have been in contact with travelers to Europe and other foreign countries where measles outbreaks are common.” In addition, physicians need to “recognize classic measles symptoms including a red, blotchy rash, cough, and conjunctivitis or pink eye, Sammons urged, and should immediately isolate patients suspected of having measles in rooms equipped with special air handling and ventilation systems.”
Posted on: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 18:45:07 +0000
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