First case of measles reported in Kentucky as US battles spread of disease
The first confirmed case of measles has been reported in Kentucky, health authorities have announced, opening a new front in the US spread of the disease.
The Kentucky department for public health (KDPH) said that an adult who had recently traveled to another country had contracted the disease. The person had been at a Planet Fitness gym while infectious, potentially exposing others.
This is the first case of measles in the state since 2023. It comes as the US battles the spread of the highly contagious virus, which this week claimed the life of an unvaccinated child, marking the first US death from the disease since 2015.
There have been three outbreaks of measles so far this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The most serious of those is in west Texas where the virus is spreading largely among the Mennonite community in which rates of vaccination are low.
Nine states in total have reported cases of measles. In addition to Kentucky and Texas, that includes: Alaska, California, Georgia, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Rhode Island.
Steven Stack, who heads the public health department in Kentucky, urged people to get vaccinated. He pointed out that rates of vaccinations among Kentucky kindergartners was only 90%, lower than the national average.
'Measles is one of the most contagious viruses in the word. Vaccines are an essential tool to keep children and adults safe and healthy,' Stack said.
The growing challenge of measles comes as a notorious vaccine skeptic has just become the top US health official. Robert F Kennedy Jr, the health secretary, founded the anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense and has aired debunked conspiracy theories that childhood vaccinations are linked to autism.
Kennedy made his first public appearance in the top health role on Wednesday at a cabinet meeting with Donald Trump in the White House. He said that the measles epidemic was being followed by the government 'every day', but then appeared to try to minimize the seriousness of the spread.
'It's not unusual. We have measles outbreaks every year,' he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
Texas measles outbreak ‘on the decline', officials say
The measles outbreak that began sweeping across west Texas earlier this year is showing signs of slowing, according to the state's health services department. For the first time since the outbreak was first reported in January, no new cases were added in the department's latest update. The total case count remains at 742, a figure that has been updated biweekly by state officials. 'Thankfully, this large outbreak that we've been tracking in west Texas does seem to be on the decline,' Dr Jennifer Shuford, commissioner of the the state health services department told the Texas Standard, though she warned that 'it just takes one person to get into an under-vaccinated community to cause another outbreak'. Measles had been declared eliminated from the US in 2000, but it has been spreading in undervaccinated communities. Though most of Texas's outbreak has been concentrated in its western part, sporadic cases have appeared elsewhere in the state. Some of these cases have been linked to international travel while others remain under investigation due to unclear origins. The majority of cases have been reported in Gaines county, home to a Mennonite community with historically low childhood immunization rates. Two children from the affected region, both unvaccinated and with no known pre-existing conditions, have died due to the disease. The earlier of those deaths was the first in the US from measles since 2015. According to the latest Texas state health services department figures, fewer than 10 of the confirmed cases are currently considered infectious – which is defined as individuals within four days before or after the appearance of the measles rash. Since January, 94 people have been hospitalized. The state health agency has identified seven counties with ongoing measles transmission: Cochran, Dawson, Gaines, Lamar, Lubbock, Terry and Yoakum. The agency says it continues to work closely with local health officials to monitor and contain the spread. Shuford says that the department has struggled to adequately encourage community members to get vaccinated, explaining that the state health service department is 'really trying to strengthen our messaging at all times and so that we already have a relationship with different communities'. She added that 'vaccines are just such an instrumental way for us to maintain a healthy society that can be productive'.
NBC News
3 days ago
- NBC News
Texas woman dies from brain-eating amoeba after cleaning sinuses with tap water
A Texas woman died from an infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba days after cleaning her sinuses using tap water, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case report. The woman, an otherwise healthy 71-year-old, developed "severe neurologic symptoms" including fever, headache and an altered mental status four days after she filled a nasal irrigation device with tap water from her RV's water system at a Texas campsite, the CDC report said. She was treated for primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) — a brain infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, often referred to as the"brain-eating amoeba,"the CDC said. Despite treatment, the woman experienced seizures and died from the infection eight days after she developed symptoms, the agency said. Lab tests confirmed the amoeba in the woman's cerebrospinal fluid, according to the report. The CDC said the infection usually occurs after "recreational water activities" but noted that cleaning sinuses with non-distilled water is also a risk factor for developing PAM. An investigation conducted by the agency found that the woman had not recently been exposed to fresh water but had done the nasal irrigation using non-boiled water from the RV's potable water faucet "on several occasions" before her illness. The potable water tank, the investigation found, was filled before the woman bought the RV three months ago and could have contained contaminated water. The investigation also concluded that the municipal water system, which was connected to the potable water system and bypassed the tank, could have caused the contamination. The agency stressed the importance of using distilled, sterilized or boiled and cooled tap water when performing nasal irrigation to reduce the risk of infection and illness.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- The Guardian
Canadian infant born prematurely and with measles dies
A Canadian infant who was born prematurely and had measles has died, officials said on Thursday without confirming a cause of death, raising heightened concern about the virus's resurgence. Canada has recorded 2,755 measles cases – including 2,429 confirmed and 326 probable – according to federal health data updated on 2 June. The epicenter of the outbreak is the province of Ontario, where nearly 2,000 cases have been reported. Ontario's chief medical officer of health, Kieran Moore, said in a statement 'the infant contracted the virus before birth from their mother, who had not received the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine'. 'While measles may have been a contributing factor in both the premature birth and death, the infant also faced other serious medical complications unrelated to the virus,' he added. In March, Moore said the outbreak was 'disproportionately affecting some Mennonite, Amish, and other Anabaptist communities', partly due to lower rates of vaccination among those populations. If measles is confirmed as the cause of the infant's death, it would mark the first fatality linked to the current outbreak. After Ontario, the next hardest hit area is the western province of Alberta, with 632 confirmed cases, according to the federal data. Measles is a highly contagious respiratory virus spread through droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes or simply breathes. Known for its characteristic rash, it poses a serious risk to unvaccinated individuals, including infants under 12 months who are not ordinarily eligible for vaccination, and those with weakened immune systems. It can lead to severe complications, including pneumonia, brain swelling, premature birth and in rare cases, death. Before widespread immunization programs were introduced in the early 1970s, hundreds died each year from the virus in Canada. It was considered eradicated in 1998, but cases continue to occur due to spread from other countries. The US is also confronting a significant measles resurgence, with a vaccine-skeptical Mennonite Christian community straddling the Texas-New Mexico border hit particularly hard. Donald Trump's health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has undermined confidence in the MMR vaccine – a highly effective shot he has falsely claimed is dangerous and contains fetal debris.
