From January 1-23, 68 people from 11 states were reported to have measles, and most of these cases are part of a large, ongoing outbreak linked to an amusement park in California. On January 23, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Health Advisory to notify local health departments and healthcare facilities about this multi-state outbreak and to provide guidance for healthcare providers nationwide.
Because many doctors currently in practice may not be familiar with measles signs and symptoms, CDC urges healthcare professionals to consider measles when evaluating patients with febrile rash and ask about a patient’s recent international travel history and travel to domestic venues frequented by international travelers.
Guidance for Clinicians
- Ensure all patients are up to date on measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine.
- Consider measles in patients presenting with febrile rash illness and clinically compatible measles symptoms (cough, coryza, and conjunctivitis), and ask patients about recent travel internationally or to domestic venues frequented by international travelers, as well as a history of measles exposures in their communities.
- Promptly isolate patients with suspected measles to avoid disease transmission and immediately report the suspect measles case to the health department.
- Obtain specimens for testing from patients with suspected measles, including viral specimens for genotyping, which can help determine the source of the virus. Contact the local health department with questions about submitting specimens for testing.
View recordings about measles, including a CDC expert commentary and an archived Immunization NetConference from 2014. For more information, including guidelines for patient evaluation, diagnosis and management, visit: http://www.cdc.gov/measles/hcp/.
