The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday sent a notice to health care providers to "Stay alert for measles cases" after multiple outbreaks were reported in recent weeks along with an instance where an "International traveler" may have exposed thousands to the virus at two Washington-area airports.
The agency's alert said that between Dec. 1, 2023, and Jan. 23 of this year, it received reports of 23 confirmed measles cases, "Including seven direct importations of measles by international travelers and two outbreaks with more than five cases each."
In the alert, it said that health care providers should take note of patients who have febrile rash symptoms as well as other related measles symptoms such as a cough or conjunctivitis or have recently traveled outside the United States, namely in countries with measles outbreaks.
It then said health care providers should "Immediately" report the cases to state and local health agencies about suspected measles cases, which are then reported to the CDC. "Do not allow patients with suspected measles to remain in the waiting room or other common areas of the healthcare facility; isolate patients with suspected measles immediately, ideally in a single-patient airborne infection isolation room," the agency said, or they are urged to wait in a private room with a closed door.
Recent Cases While the CDC did not go into specifics, health officials in the District of Columbia and Virginia issued notices about a "Case of measles in a person who traveled through" area airports after returning from "International travel."
Over 1,200 measles cases have been confirmed since 2019, the CDC says.
The CDC and the World Health Organization in November said that there were nine million measles cases and 136,000 deaths in 2022.
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