MMWR News Synopsis for September 11, 2014

Measles Outbreak in an Unvaccinated Family and a Potentially Associated International Traveler — Orange County, Florida, December 2012–January 2013

Dain Weister
Public Information Officer
407-858-1429
Dain.Weister@flhealth.gov

Measles is currently endemic in much of the world, providing an ongoing source of imported cases to the United States. Children should get routine measles vaccinations.. In January 2013 the Florida Department of Health in Orange County investigated a measles outbreak in four unvaccinated siblings with no travel history. A fifth possibly associated case was later reported in a Brazilian citizen with travel to Orange County, Fla.. No source case was identified. A rapid and thorough public health response was conducted to prevent further transmission of measles. No additional cases were identified in Florida. Healthcare providers should learn to recognize measles infections and should consider measles diagnosis in persons with no or unknown vaccination history and compatible symptoms.

Assessment of Varicella Surveillance and Outbreak Control Practices — United States, 2012

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Varicella surveillance practices in the United States have greatly improved. National varicella surveillance data are now useful for monitoring varicella disease trends; further improvements to surveillance will be useful for continued monitoring of the impact of the varicella vaccination program. Considerable progress in varicella surveillance practices has been made in the United States. As of 2012, 44 (86.3%) of the 51 jurisdictions surveyed mandated varicella reporting, an increase of 63.0% from 2004. A total of 38 jurisdictions (86.4%) conduct statewide or sentinel-site varicella case-based surveillance and more than 84% reported collecting information on age, sex, and race/ethnicity (all 97.4%), vaccination status (94.7%), outbreak association (86.8%), and disease severity (84.2%). Continued work by jurisdictions to collect and improve completeness of reporting of all relevant clinical and epidemiologic data, disease severity and outcomes, and vaccination status, along with full implementation of Health Level 7 systems to allow jurisdictions to send their varicella-specific data to CDC will be useful for continued monitoring of the varicella vaccination program and guiding future varicella vaccination policy.

Notes from the field

Measles in a Micronesian Community — King County, Washington, 2014

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES