United States: Recently, officials of the state health department could confirm possible contacts with measles at different locations within a week, such as the urgent care centers in Dearborn and Washtenaw counties, a pharmacy in Dearborn, and hospital emergency departments in Wayne County.
After the measles case was reported, it was said that two adults, after they traveled abroad, came to local urgent care centers due to their symptoms, but they had no history of measles inoculations. The reverse effect occurred; thus, the unvaccinated were exposed to a highly contagious virus, and this led to much concern within the public health sector of the county regarding designing measures to contain the outbreak.
The outbreak was detected after several individuals reported symptoms consistent with measles. They visited health departments, including:
- Trinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital, 5301 McAuley Drive, Ypsilanti, on March 1.
- Corewell Health Dearborn Hospital, 18101 Oakwood Blvd., Dearborn, on February 29.
- Henry Ford GoHealth Urgent Care, 26763 Ford Road, Dearborn Heights, on February 29
- WellStreet/Beaumont Urgent Care, 23100 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, on February 27
- CVS Pharmacy, 2701 S. Telegraph Road, Dearborn, on February 27
Learn more about measles from experts
Chelsea Wuth, a spokesperson for the state health department, emphasized that measles is highly infectious, can be transmitted before the characteristic rash appears, and initial symptoms can be vague. The virus can linger in the air for hours, increasing the risk in crowded and high-traffic areas where infected individuals have been.
Dr. Anurag Malani, director of hospital epidemiology, special pathogens, and antimicrobial stewardship at Trinity, suggested that individuals newly exposed to measles should receive the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine within 72 hours or intravenous immunoglobulin within six days to reduce the risk of transmission.
Further investigation for additional exposures
Malani noted that a detailed analysis of the immunization status of Trinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital employees who were in contact with the infected patients was conducted. This allowed health authorities to offer protection to those requiring relevant vaccination or intravenous immunoglobulin.
Malani added that less than ten patients were identified as potentially exposed, including a few children, one of whom was unvaccinated and another partially vaccinated based on age. Efforts were made to provide post-exposure prophylaxis to these individuals in collaboration with the health department.