How Measles Is Transmitted

Measles Describe the measles (also known as Rubella) outbreak. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from January 1 to February 20, 2015, there have been reports of 154 people from 17 different states and Washington D.C. contracting measles (CDC). The state with the highest number of people with measles is California, with 117 cases reported. How did the outbreak begin? The CDC believes a traveler became infected overseas and then visited Disneyland in Southern California while he or she was infected.

CDC scientists report that the outbreak in the United States in 2014-2015 is "…identical to the virus type that cause a large measles outbreak in the Philippines in 2014" (CDC). That having been said, the type of measles that has caused an outbreak in the U.S. And in the Philippines has also shown up in 14 other countries, and 6 states in the U.S. not associated with the present outbreak (CDC). TWO: analyze the epidemiological determinants of the outbreak.

The occurrence of measles is a worldwide problem; however there have been interruptions of the transmission of measles in the U.S. And other places in the Western Hemisphere. Measles is a human disease but the CDC says there is "no known animal reservoir"; an asymptomatic carrier state is not yet documented by scientists.

The transmission of the disease is "person to person" via "large respiratory droplets" -- and in a closed room little "aerosolized droplets" can remain airborne for up to two hours if a person with measles has occupied that room. The temporal pattern peaks usually in winter and spring, and measles is very communicable, which makes it very dangerous and makes outbreaks hard to contain (CDC).

One of the serious risk factors is that it spreads to others through a cough or sneeze, and if others are in a room (or close by) with a person with measles, an estimated 90% of those unfortunate people will become infected by simply breathing the air (CDC). Another risk factor is that four days before a measles rash appears measles can be spread; in other words, before the person knows he or she has measles, the disease can be spread.

THREE: how is the community impacted? If a measles outbreak happens in a school, the school could be shut down until all the rooms where the infected students were in could be scrubbed. In fact if a measles outbreak occurs in town, a crisis could greatly impact everyone and every institution.

So, there should be an "Outbreak Coordination Committee" established which should ensure that: a) the outbreak is confirmed in the laboratory; b) there is an adequate management of the outbreak cases; c) there should be an "intensifying surveillance and notification of suspected cases"; d) the risk of a large outbreak with "high morbidity and mortally" should be empirically evaluated; e) a vaccination campaign should immediately be launched with other "control and preventative measures"; and f) the community needs to become involved and the public must be made aware through various public relations activities (National Institutes of Health).

FOUR: what is the reporting protocol during an outbreak? First, after confirmation that there is an outbreak, the district healthcare staff must notify the next administrative level; the executives at the district healthcare level (or the state or province) should be updated "as frequently as possible. "All measles outbreaks should be reported to the health authorities at the local, regional and national levels" (National Institutes of Health). FIVE: develop a plan as to how an outbreak would be reported.

There should already exist an exact protocol as to what persons and what departments should immediately be contacted. Beyond that I would bring in the local media (TV, radio,.