Pennsylvania issues alert on congenital measles—something US hasn't seen for decades
Congenital measles can be fatal, and survivors require monitoring for years.
Pennsylvania's health department issued a health alert on Monday, as cases of measles during pregnancy and resulting congenital measles have surged. The current outbreak, still ongoing, marks a return of congenital measles cases to the state after decades of absence, according to the department. The advisory features comprehensive clinical guidance for handling measles exposures and cases during pregnancy, as well as instances in newborns.
Many physicians have never encountered such cases during their careers, thanks to the extensive success of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. However, with nationwide vaccination rates declining, the highly contagious virus now has more opportunities to establish itself in communities and rapidly spread in under-vaccinated areas, as evident in Pennsylvania.
As of October 19, the state had reported 1,286 measles cases this year across 42 counties. Of these, 247 individuals have been hospitalized, and six people have reportedly died (although the latest reported death is still under investigation by the state health department before it is added to the official count).
Written by urgent.news from Ars Technica Health's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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