Home · Health · Oct 20 archive
Pennsylvania Reports Rise in Measles Cases During Pregnancy
Confirmed
In Short: The alert included detailed clinical guidance for managing measles exposures and cases during pregnancy as well as in newborns.
Pennsylvania's health department issued a health alert on Monday, warning of an increase in measles cases among pregnant women and newborns. As of October 19, the state had reported 1,286 measles cases this year across 42 counties.
A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania health department confirmed that 66 of the state’s measles cases were in pregnant women. This rise has led to at least one death, with a newborn baby boy dying immediately after birth while his mother was severely ill with measles.
The department does not maintain a specific tally of congenital measles cases because the definition of these cases is not standardized. Many doctors have never seen such cases in their careers due to the decades-long success of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
The alert included detailed clinical guidance for managing measles exposures and cases during pregnancy as well as in newborns. Doctors in Pennsylvania have identified at least six babies born already infected with measles during the state's outbreak, with two requiring intensive care.
According to NBC News, getting measles while pregnant increases the risk of miscarriage, early labor, and low birth weight. The CDC has dispatched an investigator to Pennsylvania to help contain the country’s largest measles outbreak, which has seen 4,410 confirmed cases nationwide.
In Pennsylvania, a total of 943 confirmed cases of measles have been reported across 39 counties, with about 176 people hospitalized. The state health center staff have given more than 5,700 MMR doses at 198 pop-up clinics in affected communities since the outbreak began in late April.
Franklin County health officials announced the state’s sixth measles-associated death in a 39-year-old woman who was unvaccinated against the virus. The primary cause of death was a probable acute cardiac event due to possible complications of the measles.
The CDC has not yet confirmed whether these deaths will be counted as measles-associated, pending further reviews. However, the outbreak continues to expand, with more than 620 cases across 37 counties this year.
Two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97 percent effective against infection, offering lifelong protection, according to the CDC. Only 4 cases, under 1% of the total, have occurred in vaccinated individuals.
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
- Pennsylvania’s health department issued a health alert Monday as cases of measles in pregnancy and, in turn, cases of congenital measles have continued to increase.
- Doctors in Pennsylvania have identified at least six babies born already infected with measles during the state's outbreak, and two were sick enough to need intensive care, NBC News reported last week.
- Pennsylvania health officials reported on Wednesday the death of an unvaccinated resident of Lancaster County who tested positive for measles.
What's still developing
- Congenital measles can be fatal, and survivors require monitoring for years.
- He said some children infected very early in life, including babies with congenital measles, developed SSPE after about a couple of years rather than the more typical seven to 10 years.
- CDC officials, however, have not said whether they will count either death as measles-associated, and the agency’s website still carries a disclaimer about them.