SFDPH Health Advisory: Be Alert for Measles Cases January 23, 2015 News, Public Health, SF Dept of Public Health Health Advisory, Measles, San Francisco Department of Public Health, SFDPH 0 California has been experiencing a measles outbreak, with at least 59 confirmed cases of this airborne, highly contagious disease. Although no measles cases have been reported in San Francisco residents in 2014 or so far in 2015, a Contra Costa County resident rode BART to San Francisco and worked in San Francisco on 2/4/15-2/6/15 during his/her infectious period. The majority of case-patients in California’s current outbreak for whom vaccination status is known were unvaccinated. Although measles is no longer endemic in the United States, measles epidemics overseas have resulted in imported cases and resulting secondary cases and outbreaks. In addition, undetected community transmission may occur. Measles should be considered in patients presenting with fever and morbilliform or maculopapular rash. The purpose of this update is to provide guidance for clinicians who may be responding to inquiries from concerned patients, and to review proper infection control and testing procedures for patients presenting with potential measles symptoms. Suspected measles cases should be reported immediately to the SFDPH Communicable Disease Control 24-hour line: (415) 554-2830. If calling after hours, listen to the instructions to page the on-call physician. Clinical Guidance Please see “Quick Guide for Clinicians: Measles” for detailed and updated information concerning measles reporting and diagnostic testing. The document is also available at: http://sfcdcp.org/measles.html. If a patient presents to a medical facility with a fever and a maculopapular or morbilliform rash, he or she should be immediately masked and placed in an isolation room or a private exam room as soon as possible. Patients with rash who request advice over the telephone and who are advised to present for evaluation should be instructed to travel to the medical facility in a private vehicle if possible and to request a mask upon arrival. Patients who are immunocompromised or pregnant are at highest risk for complications of measles. Treatment of measles is supportive. The most important preventive strategy for measles is immunization. Patients who have been vaccinated against measles or who have a history of measles disease are considered immune. Medical providers should work with their patients to make sure that their measles immunization status is up to date. Individuals who are planning travel outside the United States should be up to date on their measles immunizations, and early administration of measles vaccine to infants 6-12 months of age who are traveling outside the United States is recommended. For travel-related recommendations, please see http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2014/chapter-3-infectious-diseases-related-to-travel/measles-rubeola. For the California Department of Public Health’s updates on the current measles outbreak, as well as measles alert flyers to post in clinical settings, click here. Click here to view the updated SFDPH Health Advisory issued on February 11, 2015. Comments are closed.
