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Measles cases prompt warnings

BY KAREN SHIDELER

The Wichita Eagle

More than 70 cases of measles have been reported in 10 states this year, prompting federal health officials to warn Thursday that travelers and people who haven't been vaccinated are at risk for the highly contagious disease.

No cases have been reported in Kansas.

People with measles usually have a rash, a temperature and a cough. Measles is spread by coughing or sneezing, and the virus can be present two hours after the infected person has left a room. Complications can be fatal, though no deaths have been reported this year.

Nearly all of the cases are at least indirectly tied to travel: Someone was exposed in a foreign country and exposed others after returning to the United States, said Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One of the children was exposed in a doctor's office waiting room.

Only one of the cases was in someone who had been immunized against measles, Schuchat said.

Arizona, California and New York have had the most cases; other states with cases are Washington, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Michigan, Virginia, Wisconsin and Illinois.

Two countries -- Switzerland and Israel -- are dealing with widespread measles outbreaks, she said. Cases also have been tied to Belgium, Italy and India, and probably to China and Japan.

Schuchat said increasing travel abroad and increasing numbers of people in the United States who haven't been vaccinated create "a concerning situation."

In the United States, most children get their first measles vaccination at age 12 to 15 months and their second before starting school.

Some of the U.S. outbreaks have come in areas where immunization levels are low. Some people don't get vaccinated because of personal or religious beliefs. "I am concerned that those communities may be growing," Schuchat said.

Eight members of one family in Washington are among those who have measles. They were exposed at a recent church conference that drew about 2,000 people.

The United States has had resurgences of measles in the past, with 55,000 cases between 1989 and 1991.

Schuchat said she was concerned this time because of outbreaks in Europe, which usually doesn't prompt health warnings for U.S. residents, and because so few cases have been reported in recent years that doctors, nurses and parents may not recognize what they see.

Kansas had one probable case of measles in 2007 and one confirmed case in 2006. There were two cases in 2000 but none in the years in between.

For the United States, the case count so far in 2008 is greater than in any year since 2001, when 116 cases were reported.

Reach Karen Shideler at 316-268-6674 or kshideler@wichitaeagle.com.