• Communicable Disease:
  
  Measles:  According to CDC, more measles cases were reported in the United States in 2008 than the same period in any year since 1996.  There were 131 cases reported, with at least 15 hospitalizations and no deaths.  CDC updates are available at: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/measles/default.htm 
  
  [Countries associated with measles exposure include Switzerland, Israel, Belgium, Italy, India, Germany, China, Pakistan, Russia and the Philippines. Measles has again become endemic in Britain, 14 years after its spread was halted in the resident population.  Vaccination rates have fallen below the level necessary to prevent the disease becoming established in the general population.  Total British cases for the year are 461 with one fatality.  This adds an additional country of concern for importation through international travel and visitors.]
  
  One case of measles was identified in an adult from Whatcom County, 3 confirmed cases of mumps were reported in Skagit County, and two cases of mumps were identified in Island County in late 2008.    

  Mumps: 23 October 2009  New York Mumps Outbreak Strikes 57 People Between Ages Of 1 To 42
   The New York Department of Health has confirmed an outbreak of old fashioned mumps in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn where at least 57 confirmed or probable cases have been reported since Aug. 21. At least 75 percent of those who have become sick had been vaccinated for mumps, the ages of victims has ranged from 1-year-old to 42 with most being between 10 and 15.

  • Addendum: An outbreak of mumps began in June 2009 in a religious community and is ongoing, Limited spread has occurred outside the affected community.  179 cases (113 in persons with age-appropriate mumps vaccinations) have been reported as of October 30, 2009 involving residents of New York, New Jersey, and Quebec.  An MMWR dispatch summarizing this outbreak can be viewed at:

  http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm58d1112a1.htm?s_cid=mm58d1112a1_e

 Pertussis:*CDC now reports that fewer than 5% of our adult populace are fully immunized with the recommended vaccines for adults: Tdap if you have not had this booster which includes pertussis vaccine; "shingles" vaccine and pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine for those 60 and older; Hepatitis B vaccine for young adults and emergency response personnel; and annual influenza vaccine (especially for children, pregnant women, working adults and health care givers). The protective effect of "herd immunity" is slowly vanishing in America – this requires 95+ percent of the population to be fully immunized to be an effective deterrent for communicable disease.
*Are you among the 5% who are fully immunized?   . . . probably not!    

Advice to the public: If you are experiencing continuing symptoms of cough, please contact your health care provider... you may be unknowingly spreading disease. And please bring your immunizations up to date – especially your influenza and Tdap immunizations! If you are between the ages of 12 and 64 and haven't had a booster Tdap since 2005, you are past-due and should speak with your health care provider. (It has been reported that 10 - 12 % of adults in America are walking around with a chronic cough consistent with sub-acute pertussis, and are unwittingly spreading the disease among the susceptible.

As with any disease, STAY HOME if you are ill, COVER YOUR COUGH, and WASH YOUR HANDS.

Pertussis Flyer

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