A potential measles outbreak has been reported at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), following a case of a child who entered the country on a China Airlines flight and tested positive for the highly contagious disease. The child, a US national but not vaccinated, visited two clinics in Pennsylvania and was eventually diagnosed with measles.
Health officials are urging anyone who rode on the shuttle bus from JFK Terminal 4 on February 25 between 9:30pm and 3:15am to get tested for measles. People who visited the same clinics in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, or the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia King of Prussia campus also need to get tested.
The incident comes after a passenger at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) who arrived on a Korean Air flight from Seoul tested positive for measles on February 19. Meanwhile, a major measles outbreak in Texas has sickened over 170 people and reported two deaths, marking the first US deaths from the disease in over a decade.
Measles is highly contagious and can spread to up to 90% of people nearby. It’s essential to get vaccinated as falling vaccination rates have left the US more vulnerable to outbreaks. The measles vaccine is 97% effective and required for children attending school in some states.
Health officials are working to identify patients who may have come into contact with the infected child. In Pennsylvania, about 94.6% of children entering kindergarten received the measles vaccine last year, just below the minimum threshold of 95%. Nationwide, about 92.7% of children entered kindergarten with the recommended vaccination.
As the situation unfolds, health experts warn that it’s crucial to get vaccinated and take precautions against measles transmission. Longtime vaccine skeptic Robert F Kennedy Jr has urged people to get vaccinated, emphasizing the importance of protecting public health.
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-14455647/Second-major-US-airport-red-alert-measles-jfk.html