Georgia reports 7th measles case of the year in Atlanta resident

By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews

Georgia state health officials are reporting an additional confirmed case of measles in an unvaccinated metro Atlanta resident who recently traveled overseas.

The Department of Public Health (DPH) is notifying individuals who may have been exposed to the virus and may be at increased risk for developing measles. This is the seventh confirmed case of measles in Georgia in 2019.

Global Measles Outbreak: CDC issues travel notice

“Anyone planning international travel should be fully vaccinated at least two weeks before leaving,” said Cherie Drenzek, DVM., MS, chief science officer and state epidemiologist, Georgia Department of Public Health. “Measles is so contagious that if one person has it, 90 percent of the people close to that person who have not been vaccinated or are not immune will also become infected.”

The MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine is safe and effective. Two doses of MMR vaccine are about 97 percent effective at preventing measles; one dose is about 93 percent effective.

From January 1 to June 13, 2019, 1,044 individual cases of measles have been confirmed in 28 states. This is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1992 and since measles was declared eliminated in 2000.



