Officials contain victims of measles to limit possible outbreak

MILWAUKEE Fearing a measles outbreak, city officials here, in April, offered free immunization vaccinations to local residents to ensure that a possible outbreak could be contained, according to published reports.

Local officials were able to contact and contain cases, involving, a 37-year-old man, a 23-month-old girl and two boys, ages 5 months and 1 year. According to published reports, one of the infected patients may have come into contact with as many as 150 people before being contained.

Officials believed they managed to limit public exposure but offered the free vaccinations as a preventive measure.

According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the MMR (Mumps/Measels/Rubella) vaccine is a live, attenuated, combination vaccine that protects against the measles, mumps, and rubella viruses. The standard two-dose vaccine regimen is effective in preventing in about 99 percent of patients; while the first does is effective in about 95 percent of all cases, the second dose is recommended to protect the 5 percent who generally do not develop an immune response the first time around.

SIDEBAR: WHO NEEDS THE MMR?

People who do NOT need MMR:

• Those who have had blood tests that show immunity to measles, mumps, and rubella
• Those born before 1957.
• Those who have already had two doses of MMR—or one dose of MMR plus a second dose of measles vaccine.
• Those who have already had one dose of MMR and are not at high risk of measles exposure.

People who SHOULD get the measles vaccine:

• College students, trade school students, and other students beyond high school.
• Those who work in hospitals or other healthcare settings.
• Those who travel internationally, and those planning to travel aboard a cruise ship.
• Women of childbearing age.

Source: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention