SOURCE: CDC website

The number of measles cases is up to 839 nationwide, according to data released today (Monday, May 13, 2019) by the Centers For Disease Control.

The new statistics cover a period from Jan. 1 to May 10, and the 839 total represents an increase of 75 cases from the previous week.

“This is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1994 and since measles was declared eliminated in 2000,” the CDC report says.

Measles have been confirmed in 23 states, including Illinois.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health website, the number of confirmed measles cases remains at seven. That’s the same total the IDPH reported in April.

The IDPH is taking steps to increase vaccination rates across the state. The steps include increasing accessibility to vaccines, expanding outreach in communities with low vaccination rates, and educating the public on the importance of vaccines.

A story published by The Lancet says Cook County, IL, is the No. 1 most-likely place in the U.S. for a measles outbreak. The reason for that, of course, is that Chicago is a hub for international travel.

The state health department reported that an Illinois resident whose flight arrived Friday, Feb. 22, in Concourse B at Chicago Midway Airport was confirmed with a diagnosis of measles and had exposed people in the emergency room at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital on Sunday, Feb. 24.

Click this link for the Kane County Health Department measles website page.

SOURCE: CDC, IDPH, The Lancet, Kane County Health Department news releases and website pages

Read More

• Illinois Intensifies Vaccination Efforts After Nationwide Measles Outbreaks
• Measles Outbreak Highest in Decades
• IDPH: Delnor Hospital Patients, Visitors, Staff Exposed to Measles Feb. 24-25