Community Health and Population Focused Nursing
Measles is a very contagious respiratory disease, mostly seen in children however adults can get it also. Measles is an airborne disease and can be caught when the person infected coughs, sneezes or even breathing around others. The rubeola virus is the culprit that causes measles. Symptoms seen with measles are high fever, a runny nose, coughing, sneezing, followed by a rash all over the body. The symptoms are how measles is diagnosed. Other complications can occur due to measles, such as encephalitis, pneumonia and in rare cases, death. According to the website, healthychildren. org, "of every 1, 000 people who got measles, 1 to 2 would die." Approximately 14 days is the incubation period, however it can be even longer, as much as 21 days. A person is contagious about 4 days before they start having symptoms and have thus exposed other to the disease without even knowing. There is a vaccine for measles, developed in 1963. Once measles has been diagnosed, treatment for it is supportive care, like anti-pyretic, IV fluids if needed, pain medication to name a few.
Reported Outbreak
In August 25, 2011, a teenage refugee had been on a flight to the United States from Malaysia. The teenager's flight landed in California. One day after arriving in California, August 26, 2011, the teenager was hospitalized with measles. The report of measles that this teenager had was reported to a quarantine station that then began an investigation to find who the teenager had been sitting on the flight. Passengers who sat on the same row and 2 rows front and back of the teenager, besides thirty refugees who also came from Malaysia were possibly exposed. The total of passengers exposed was 35 passengers who traveled on to 10 other states, and the refugees traveled to 8 states. All of these people would have to be contacted and evaluated for measles with the hope that they did not expose the measles to other people.
Of the people exposed to measles, 6 people developed measles and were located in four different states. The 6 people were all unvaccinated. One was a Customs and Border protection officer, two children that were passengers on the flight and six refugee children. There was also a report, on September 7, 2011 of a twenty-three month old refugee that developed measles, from Malaysia, but on a different flight. (DGMQ Stories: Measles Travels from Malaysia to 10 States, August 2013).
Epidemiological Determinants
Measles is very contagious that can be living in someone and even though they might not have any symptoms. By breathing, coughing and sneezing around others, the contagious person has exposed anyone that is nearby to the disease. When others breathe in the air that has been contaminated by this infected person, or touching any object that has been touched by an infected person, they themselves can become infected. According to the CDC, "if one person has it, 90% of the people close to t...
