Child arrives in major U.S. city, coming in from China, diagnosed with measles
THE DANGER…
On March 3, health officials issued a warning about a potential measles outbreak at New York's JFK International Airport after a child, a U.S. national who had not been vaccinated, tested positive for the highly contagious disease. The child arrived at Terminal 4 on a China Airlines flight and subsequently traveled on a shuttle bus to Philadelphia between 9:30 PM on February 25 and 3:15 AM on February 26. The child visited two medical facilities in Pennsylvania— a clinic in Collegeville on February 26 from 11:45 AM to 2:15 PM and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia King of Prussia campus from 12:52 AM to 3:02 PM—before being diagnosed. Authorities are urging anyone who was on the shuttle bus or at these locations during the specified times to get tested, as measles can spread through the air and linger for hours, posing a risk to unvaccinated individuals nearby.
This incident follows another recent measles scare at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), where a passenger arriving on a Korean Air flight from Seoul tested positive on February 19, marking it the first major U.S. airport affected this year. The JFK case is set against the backdrop of a significant measles outbreak in Texas, where at least 173 people have been infected, resulting in two deaths—the first U.S. fatalities from the disease in a decade. Experts attribute the rising vulnerability to declining vaccination rates, with only 92.7% of U.S. kindergarteners vaccinated nationwide, below the 95% threshold needed for herd immunity. The child’s lack of vaccination highlights this growing trend, as 94.6% of Pennsylvania kindergarteners were vaccinated last year, also just shy of the critical level.
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Measles, one of the most infectious diseases globally, spreads via airborne droplets from coughing, sneezing, or breathing, potentially infecting up to 90% of unvaccinated people in close proximity. In the U.S., about 40% of cases require hospitalization, and roughly three in 1,000 patients die from complications like brain swelling. There is no cure; treatment involves antibiotics for secondary infections and IV fluids, while the MMR vaccine, 97% effective, remains the primary preventive measure. The Montgomery County Health Department in Pennsylvania is tracing contacts and assessing vaccination statuses, urging vigilance amid falling vaccination rates. Meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the new health chief and a noted vaccine skeptic, has unexpectedly called for vaccination, a shift prompted by the outbreak’s severity.