Earlier this week, the Maricopa Department of Public Health (MCDPH) identified a confirmed exposure of measles from an international traveler in Maricopa County. While no additional cases have been identified so far, measles is highly contagious. If you lack immunity and are exposed to the measles virus, you have about a 90 percent chance of [...]
Today's report of three measles cases in Maricopa County is a sobering reminder that this rare and highly contagious disease can flare among those who aren't vaccinated. Before the U.S. introduced a vaccination program, measles was a common illness in infants, children, and young adults. It can be severe: Approximately two out of 1,000 people [...]
So, your little one starts kindergarten soon. How exciting! You still have a few months before the school year starts, so now’s the time to make sure students-to-be have the vaccines needed to stay safe as they head into a new chapter of life. Much attention is rightly paid to COVID-19 these days, but we [...]
At the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), we have about 100 public health laboratory staff who work hard every day to detect critical infectious diseases, test suspicious substances, screen drinking water for contaminants, conduct early identification of genetic and metabolic disorders in newborns, inspect and license clinical and environmental labs across Arizona, and work [...]
In the midst of nationwide outbreaks of measles, and increases in Arizona cases of vaccine-preventable diseases, Arizona’s vaccine coverage rates continue to decrease. This places more Arizona children, families, and communities at risk for vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks. For the third year in a row, non-medical exemption rates--the percentage of students exempt from one or more [...]
Late on Friday, working with Pima County Health Department, our Arizona State Public Health Laboratory confirmed Arizona’s first case of measles of 2019. A family and their young child traveled internationally to an area with active measles cases and the child became sick with measles. The child’s health is improving now, but the work of [...]
Earlier this week, the State of Washington declared a public health emergency due to a measles outbreak that has infected nearly 40 people to date. Luckily, no Arizonans have been infected with measles associated with this outbreak, but the fact that measles outbreaks still occur underscores the importance of up-to-date vaccination for all children. ADHS [...]
Office of Infectious Disease Services recently published a report in the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) describing the 2016 measles outbreak associated with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in our state. This week marks the one year anniversary of the public health response to the outbreak. ADHS worked with Pinal County [...]
Even though the largest measles outbreak of the year officially ended on August 8, the work did not stop there. State and local disease detectives, along with CDC, continued to review all rash illnesses reported in the detention center before the first measles cases were identified. The goal was to see if, looking back, these [...]
Immunization gives parents the safe, proven power to protect their children from 14 serious and potentially deadly diseases before they turn two years old. To celebrate the importance of immunizations for a healthy start and throughout our lives, and to make sure children are protected with all the vaccines they need, we continue to join [...]
