In 2007, when Japanese tourists were restricted from the flight home from Canada due to 1-2 members of the group contracting the measles disease , every person in the 42-person group who did not have a record of being vaccinated for measles had to be quarantined for 3-5 days before being allowed to complete their trip back to Japan. In 2004, 25% of students contracted measles while on a trip to India and the containment efforts have been estimated to cost $142,452 (Dayan GH, Ortega-Sanchez IR, LeBaron CW, et al. Iowa, 2004. Pediatrics 2005; 116:e1-e4).
Due to low vaccine coverage in areas with high reports of the disease and the increase of tourism travel to these areas, eradication programs continue to be complicated and face resistence. Many people aren’t fully aware of the disease itself, much less the need for vaccination against it. Even in the United States, measles are starting to outbreak due to people who have not been properly vaccinated coming back from overseas travel to areas where the disease is prevelant. The latest report of outbreak is ongoing in Arizona and is linked to importation; the alert was sent on April 3, 2008 via a Health Advisory to all healthcare providers.
Measles is a highly contagious infectious diseas, with potentially fatal complication, and still stands as a cause of public health concern in developing countries (ISTM, Journal of Travel Medicine, Volume 15, Issue 2, 2008, pp144-145). It is recommended that anyone born after 1957 get properly vaccinated with a primary series as a pediatric and one booster as an adult. Passport Health offers the MMR (Mumps, Measles, Rubella) vaccine in all of our locations, please call us at: 1-888-499-PASS (7277) if you have further questions or concerns.
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