C228 Task 2
Task II C228
WGU
Community Outbreak
A. Communicable Disease
One of the most significant measles outbreaks in the United States occurred from December 2014 to January 2015 in Anaheim, CA at a Disneyland theme park. Measles had been dormant in the United States since 2000 but never stopped being a potential risk to unvaccinated people who travel outside of the United States.
Measles remains a very common disease in many parts of the world, including Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific. In the United States, most measles cases are the result of international travel. The disease is brought into the United States by people who get infected in other countries. Measles outbreaks can result when returning travelers spread the disease to people who have not been vaccinated and are not immune to measles. Anyone who is susceptible to measles is at risk of getting infected when he or she travels outside of the US. (CDC, Measles Causes and outbreaks).
B. Description of Outbreak
The first case reported by the California Health Department involved an 11-year-old child who had not been vaccinated. The child developed a generalized red rash after visiting a Disneyland theme park in California. The patient was hospitalized and suspected of having measles in January 2015. Just a few days later, 6 more cases were reported, of the 6 affected, 2 were from Utah. It was determined, following an investigation by the State Department of Health, that those affected with suspected measles had visited Disneyland theme park in California. The Center for Disease Control was notified of a potential measles outbreak.
On January 7, 2015, test results confirmed the individuals affected by a rash were suffering from measles. Media started informing the public of the potential risk to unvaccinated individuals. No source was identified, however, it is very likely that the outbreak started from a traveler who was exposed to measles while overseas, then visited the amusement park during the infectious stage of the disease. Analysis by CDC scientists showed that the measles virus strand in this particular outbreak (B3) was identical to the virus type that caused a significant measles outbreak in the Philippines in 2014. (CDC, Measles Cases, and Outbreaks).
By February 11, an aggregate of 125 measles cases with rash happening between Dec 28, 2014, and Feb 8, 2015, had been confirmed in residents of the US. Of these, 110 patients were residents of the state of California. Thirty-nine (35%) of the California patients visited either of the two Disney amusement parks during Dec 1720, where they were exposed to measles, in 37 cases the source of exposure is unknown (34%), and 34 (31%) are secondary cases. Among the 34 secondary cases, 26 were exposed to the virus in their household, and eight were exposed in the community. Five (5%) of the California patients revealed being in either of the two Disney amusement parks during their presentat...
