The agency’s alert said that between Dec. 1, 2023, and Jan. 23, it received reports of 23 confirmed measles cases.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday sent a notice to health care providers to “stay alert for measles cases” after multiple outbreaks were reported in recent weeks along with an instance where an “international traveler” may have exposed thousands to the virus at two Washington-area airports.
The agency’s alert said that between Dec. 1, 2023, and Jan. 23 of this year, it received reports of 23 confirmed measles cases, “including seven direct importations of measles by international travelers and two outbreaks with more than five cases each.”
In the alert, it said that health care providers should take note of patients who have febrile rash symptoms as well as other related measles symptoms such as a cough or conjunctivitis or have recently traveled outside the United States, namely in countries with measles outbreaks.
It then said health care providers should “immediately” report the cases to state and local health agencies about suspected measles cases, which are then reported to the CDC
“Do not allow patients with suspected measles to remain in the waiting room or other common areas of the healthcare facility; isolate patients with suspected measles immediately, ideally in a single-patient airborne infection isolation room,” the agency said, or they are urged to wait in a private room with a closed door. “Healthcare providers should be adequately protected against measles and should adhere to standard and airborne precautions when evaluating suspect cases regardless of their vaccination status,” it said.
The agency also again recommended that people receive a vaccine for measles and pushed health care providers to recommend the shots. In 2023, the CDC sent out a similar health alert pushing for people to get vaccinated for the virus.
According to the alerts, the CDC said that most measles cases involve young children who haven’t received a measles-containing shot. Recent research, published in late December 2023, suggests if the measles vaccine is given after the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine—known as DTP or DTAP—there is an overall positive effect. If the order is reversed, a negative effect was observed.
