Michigan is now among a growing list of states experiencing measles outbreaks, with state health officials confirming 40 cases so far in Oakland County, one in Wayne County, and one in the City of Detroit since March 13. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines an outbreak as three or more cases.
One case in Washtenaw County and one in Oakland intially tested positive for measles, but the health department announced April 12 that a genotype of those cases came back negative. In addition, officials say an international traveler was diagnosed with measles following a visit to Washtenaw County, during which time he was contagious, but it is unrelated to the other cases.
Officials say infected individuals range in age from 8 months to 63 years, and that a majority of the cases involve adults.
There has been an increasing number of measles outbreaks in the U.S. in recent years, including 17 outbreaks and 372 cases in 2018 alone. As of March 14, the CDC reports 268 cases in 2019. There are currently outbreaks in New York, Washington, Texas, Illinois, and California.
Stateside discussed the Oakland County measles outbreak with Leigh-Anne Stafford, a health officer with the Oakland County Health Department, and Dr. Pamela Hackert, a physician with the department. You can listen to their conversation above.
How did this happen in Michigan?
The outbreak comes after an Israeli citizen likely caught the disease in New York City, where there is currently a measles outbreak, before traveling to Michigan. The Orthodox Jewish community he visited in Oakland County has acted quickly to get people vaccinated.
However, the number of confirmed cases quickly jumped to eight. And since Oakland County has a relatively high vaccination waiver rate, health officials are worried.
The Oakland and Washtenaw health departments have been updating a long list of possible locations where contagious individuals may have exposed others. (There are no exposure locations for the Wayne County case). Those lists have included multiple Jewish Community Centers, several Krogers, and multiple hospitals and urgent cares. One of the cases announced on April 17 include exposure locations in Kent and Ingham counties.
Read the full story here.