CDC issues travel notice for the Philippines due to measles outbreak
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a travel notice today for travelers to the Philippines in light of the measles outbreak on the archipelago.
Image/CIA
The CDC notes that the Department of Health of the Philippines has reported 1,163 cases of measles and a number of measles deaths in the country from January 1 through January 11, 2014. Most of the cases are from the Metropolitan Manila, Calabarzon, and Central Luzon. Countries reporting cases in travelers returning from the Philippines include Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and United States.
In fact, NBC news reported Monday that of the 54 confirmed measles cases reported in the US so far in 2014, at least a dozen of them had recently traveled to the Philippines.
The World Health Organization and the Philippines Department of Health are working to control the outbreak, including conducting outbreak response vaccination activities.
Related article: Traveling to the Philippines: preventing infection
The CDC recommends that travelers to the Philippines protect themselves by making sure they are properly vaccinated against measles. In addition, the federal health agency recommends you practice good hygiene and cleanliness.
Measles (rubeola) is classified as a member of the genus Morbillivirus in the family Paramyxoviridae. Measles is a highly contagious rash illness that is transmitted from person to person by direct contact with respiratory droplets or airborne spread. After exposure, up to 90% of susceptible persons develop measles. The average incubation period for measles is 10 to 12 days from exposure to prodrome and 14 days from exposure to rash (range: 7–21 days).
Persons with measles are infectious 4 days before through 4 days after rash onset. In the United States, from 1987 to 2000, the most commonly reported complications associated with measles infection were pneumonia (6%), otitis media (7%), and diarrhea (8%) (8). For every 1,000 reported measles cases in the United States, approximately one case of encephalitis and two to three deaths resulted.
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