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CDC Sending Disease Detective to Pennsylvania to Combat Measles Outbreak
Confirmed
In Short: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is sending one of its scientists, known as a 'disease detective,' to Pennsylvania to help curb the state’s growing measles outbreak, a CDC spokesperson said Thursday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is sending one of its scientists, known as a 'disease detective,' to Pennsylvania to help curb the state’s growing measles outbreak, a CDC spokesperson said Thursday. The outbreak, which began in late April, has seen at least 1,222 confirmed cases and 225 hospitalizations, although doctors believe the actual number of illnesses is likely higher.
The CDC’s deployment marks the first time the agency has sent someone to help on the ground in Pennsylvania. The disease detective, part of the agency’s Epidemic Intelligence Service, is scheduled to arrive later this week and will work alongside state health officials to investigate the outbreak, strengthen the response, and prevent further spread.
In addition to the deployment, the CDC is releasing nearly $4 million to aid the measles response efforts in Pennsylvania. The outbreak’s epicenter remains in Lancaster County, but it is spreading across the state, with Mifflin County reporting 183 cases and Chester County logging 90 cases.
The CDC recommends the MMR vaccine as the most effective way to prevent measles and protect against infection. Erica Schwartz, a CDC spokesperson, emphasized the importance of vaccination during a press briefing where she announced that two unvaccinated people had died of measles complications.
The CDC has previously sent teams to other states with large clusters of measles illnesses, including Kansas, New Mexico, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The deployment to Pennsylvania is expected to be short-term, about one to three weeks.
The state formally requested the CDC’s help through Epi-Aid, the Epidemic Intelligence Service program that lends short-term technical support and subject-matter experts to states and localities during public health emergencies. In September, Reuters reported that Pennsylvania’s health department had sought emergency support from the CDC, but only on the condition that the agency acknowledge the measles-associated deaths the state had reported.
During the press briefing, Shapiro accused Kennedy of spreading vaccine misinformation, while Kennedy suggested that the deaths may have been ‘fabricated’ and that Shapiro was seeking to profit politically from them.
What this adds
The Pennsylvania measles outbreak, which began in late April, continues to grow, surpassing South Carolina's previous record of 997 cases earlier this year.
Background
The Pennsylvania measles outbreak, which began in late April, continues to grow, surpassing South Carolina's previous record of 997 cases earlier this year.
What's confirmed
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sending one of its scientists to Pennsylvania to help curb the state’s growing measles outbreak, a CDC spokesperson said Thursday.
- Erica Schwartz recommends the MMR vaccine “as the most effective way to prevent measles and protect against infection.” Pennsylvania is experiencing the nation’s worst measles outbreak in 30 years, with at least 1,222 confirmed cases and 225 hospitalizations, although doctors say the actual number of illnesses is likely much higher.
- In addition to the deployment, the CDC is releasing nearly $4 million to aid the measles response efforts in Pennsylvania.
- That person, a “disease detective” within the agency’s Epidemic Intelligence Service, is scheduled to arrive later this week.
- The two traded jabs following a press briefing where Shapiro announced that two unvaccinated people had died of measles complications and accused Kennedy of spreading vaccine misinformation.
- The CDC team has previously sent teams to other states with large clusters of measles illnesses: Kansas, New Mexico, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
- The outbreak’s epicenter remains in Lancaster County, but is spreading across the state.
- Since August, six people diagnosed with measles have died in Pennsylvania, according to health officials and county coroners.
- Kennedy then suggested that the deaths may have been “fabricated,” and that Shapiro was seeking to profit from them politically.
- “I made very clear that his actions and the rhetoric that’s coming from this administration are having a negative impact on communities across America, particularly right here in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said during the briefing.
What's still developing
- The CDC’s measles outbreak website currently acknowledges two of those deaths and lists the other measles-related deaths in Pennsylvania as “under review.” Among them was a Franklin County woman whose death was reported as the sixth tied to measles.
- HHS press secretary Grace Davis Jamison said the agency will keep working closely with state health officials to provide the expertise and support needed to respond to the outbreak.
- Such deployments are usually short -term, about one to three weeks.