Three Anoka children infected with measles may have exposed others to HCMV

Patients and visitors at HCMC in Minneapolis may have been exposed to measles earlier this week when three infected children sought treatment at the downtown hospital.

The Minnesota Department of Health issued a public alert Friday urging patients or visitors to HCMC to check their vaccination status and monitor for symptoms if they received care between 11 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday. The children were infected during a visit to a European country where measles is more common, but did not attend local schools or daycares where they could have exposed others, the health department reported of State.

The children, brothers and sisters aged under 10, were briefly admitted to hospital but were released.

The number of possible exposures at the hospital is unclear, but doctors have been alerted to the potential spread and will monitor for measles symptoms and ask sick patients if they have recently sought care in HCMC. Symptoms usually appear within seven to 21 days after exposure. People at risk of exposure may be considered for immunoglobulin therapy which boosts immunity.

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases on the planet, causing initial symptoms of a cold and fever followed by a characteristic rash that often spreads from the head to the rest of the body. The ease of airborne transmission of the virus was documented by a 1991 outbreak at a Special Olympics event at the Minneapolis Metrodome, where measles spread from an athlete on the field to fans in the upper stands.

Spread is limited in Minnesota because more than 92% of children are vaccinated against measles before age 2, but the infection still finds susceptible pockets throughout the state. Nine cases have been reported so far this year in Minnesota. In 2017, an outbreak broke out in Minnesota among unvaccinated Somali children in day care centers and infected 75 people.

Measles rates are highest in Asian countries, but high rates have been detected in European countries such as Romania, Ukraine and Greece. International travelers are encouraged to ensure they have received two doses of the measles vaccine.

The state’s alert to doctors Friday said the vaccination status of the three infected children was unknown. They were not contagious during travel, the alert said, but only upon returning to Minnesota and interacting with relatives at home in Anoka County and at the hospital.