Health officials in Washington, D.C. have issued a public warning that attendees of last month’s March for Life rally may have been exposed to measles. The warning cites multiple confirmed cases of the highly infectious disease in the area at the time of the event, which thousands are believed to have attended.
Potential exposure is stated to have occurred between January 21 and February 2 at several specific locations: Union Station, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the Catholic University of America. The city’s health department said it was notifying people who were at these locations that they may have been exposed.
National surge in cases
The local alert comes amid a significant national increase in measles cases. Federal health officials recently reported 733 confirmed cases across numerous states, a figure described as the highest level seen in decades and a threat to the United States’ measles elimination status, which was achieved in 2000.
One of the largest outbreaks is in South Carolina, where the situation escalated further last week. The state’s Department of Public Health reported 44 new cases, bringing its total to 920. In that state, some infected children have experienced life-threatening brain swelling.
South Carolina officials have cautioned about potential exposure at a Target in Taylors, as well as at a Boost Mobile store, a restaurant and a Social Security Administration office in Spartanburg. The department stated that 277 people are currently in quarantine and eight in isolation, with the latest quarantine period ending on March 2.
Vaccination and response
Despite the ongoing outbreak, South Carolina’s state epidemiologist, Dr. Linda Bell, has stressed that the public health response has accelerated to meet the crisis. She said last month was the best month for measles vaccination during the outbreak.
Health authorities note that two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine offer 97 percent protection against a virus that spreads easily through the air. Symptoms can include fever, rash, vomiting and diarrhoea. Most cases over the past year have been in individuals who were unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated.
Experts have attributed the rising case numbers to falling vaccination rates, driven by vaccine hesitancy, uncertainty about basic vaccine facts and misinformation. In response, Democratic South Carolina State Senator Margie Bright Matthews filed a bill last week that could ban people from claiming religious exemptions for the vaccine.
Federal health officials have also urged the public to get vaccinated. Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, recently pleaded, “Take the vaccine, please. We have a solution for our problem.” This follows a statement from a top deputy at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that losing the country’s elimination status would be considered the “cost of doing business” in a global economy. The agency notes only six measles cases have been reported among international visitors to the U.S. this year, as stated by The Independent.
