Measles Outbreak Continues After Parents Ignore Quarantine Instructions

A total of eight measles cases have been identified following an initial outbreak in December that began at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

In late December, a child was admitted to the children’s hospital after having traveled to a country where the measles virus is less contained. By the time the child showed symptoms and was diagnosed, other people had been infected, including a child too young to be vaccinated, an unvaccinated older child and that child’s unvaccinated parent, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. 

Parents then sent one of these children to daycare, despite the quarantine guidelines, and four other children became infected.

Measles is highly contagious and can cause serious illness including brain inflammation, respiratory failure and death. About one in 1,000 children who get infected with measles will die from it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Measles symptoms are similar to a flu-like illness with fever, watery eyes and a runny nose. White spots may also appear inside the mouth. Symptoms can take up to two weeks to appear after exposure, and the virus is considered so contagious that it can infect up to 90% of people near to the infected person. 

Further, people can catch measles without coming into contact with an infected person, but by breathing the air where they have been as much as two hours later.

The Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine is very effective at preventing measles, and children 12 months and older can get immunized. Just one shot is 93% effective and a second shot increases that to 97%, according to the CDC.

Cherly Bettigole, M.D., Philadelphia's health commissioner, previously said that declining vaccination rates are at fault for the recent outbreak.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing cases of measles that have spread to vulnerable individuals including young children due to people declining vaccination and also failing to adhere to quarantine recommendations,” she said.

“Philadelphia is a city where we believe in a duty to take care of each other. We are asking all city residents who may have been exposed to measles to do their part to ensure that no additional infants are harmed by this infection.”