The Philadelphia Department of Public Health is currently tracking an outbreak of measles.

Officials stated that “The City” is working to identify everyone who may have been exposed, checking their vaccine status, warning them that they may have been exposed, and issuing quarantine and exclusion recommendations where necessary.

Currently, the Health Department is reporting that there are 8 total confirmed cases.

The Health Department strongly recommends that anyone who may have been exposed to measles should quarantine themselves by staying home and away from others. In addition, people who have not received both doses of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine should talk with their healthcare provider about getting caught up.

Measles is a very dangerous virus. However, Philadelphia has high vaccination rates, with at least 93% of children fully vaccinated by age 6. Yet:

  • About 90% of people who have close contact with an infected person will get measles if they’re not vaccinated.
  • About 1 in 5 unvaccinated people who gets measles in the United States is hospitalized.
  • As many as 1 out of every 20 children with measles gets pneumonia, the most common cause of death from measles in young children.
  • About 1 child out of every 1,000 who get measles will develop encephalitis, or swelling of the brain, which can lead to convulsions and can leave the child deaf or with intellectual disability.
  • Nearly 1 to 3 of every 1,000 children who become infected with measles will die from respiratory and neurologic complications.

Visit the City of Philadelphia Health Department website for a list of locations and exposures: https://www.phila.gov/2024-01-04-health-department-cautions-philadelphians-about-recent-measles-cases/

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