Measles Outbreak In 21 States, Including New Jersey: CDC

New Jersey is among 21 states impacted by a nationwide measles outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nationwide, at least 107 cases have been identified, according to the CDC. New Jersey has had at least three confirmed measles cases in 2018, according to the state Department of Health.

All cases were linked to international travel. The DOH is currently not investigating any new cases.

The New Jersey cases are listed below.

From January 1 through July 14, 107 people from 21 states and the District of Columbia were infected. Those states are: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Washington.

In 2017, 118 people from 15 states and the District of Columbia were reported to have measles, according to the CDC, so the number of 2018 cases should easily outpace last year's total. In 2016, 86 people from 19 states were reported to have measles.

In 2014, the United States experienced a record number of measles cases, with 667 cases from 27 states reported to CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD).

The majority of people who got measles were unvaccinated, according to the CDC.

The symptoms of measles generally appear about seven to 14 days after a person is infected.

Measles typically begins with

• High fever,
• Cough,
• Runny nose (coryza), and
• Red, watery eyes (conjunctivitis).

Two or three days after symptoms begin, tiny white spots (Koplik spots) may appear inside the mouth.

Three to five days after symptoms begin, a rash breaks out. It usually begins as flat red spots that appear on the face at the hairline and spread downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs, and feet. Small raised bumps may also appear on top of the flat red spots, according to the CDC.

The spots may become joined together as they spread from the head to the rest of the body. When the rash appears, a person’s fever may spike to more than 104 degrees.

Here were the New Jersey cases:

• In June, New Jersey issued measles warnings in two counties after a number of people were possibly exposed, according to the state Department of Health. The warnings stem from a measles case involving an individual who could have possibly exposed others to the infection while in Burlington and Camden counties. The individual developed symptoms after international travel, according to a DOH release. Read more: Measles Warnings In 2 New Jersey Counties
• On May 2, Travelers who passed through Terminal C at Newark Liberty International Airport on May 2 may have possibly been exposed to measles, according to the DOH. The warned residents that two individuals with measles may have recently exposed others in the state.
• In March, the DOH released a public health advisory that an international traveler from Brussels with a confirmed case of the "highly contagious disease" passed through the busy airport on their way to Memphis, Tennessee. The suspected carrier, a young child, was reportedly infectious on that day and may have traveled to other areas of Newark airport. See related article: Measles Alert At Newark Airport; Child Was 'Infectious,' DOH Says
• In January, the DOH issued a precautionary alert in connection with a person with measles who traveled through Newark Liberty International Airport. The source of the alert, an Indiana University student, had a "confirmed case" of the highly contagious disease when she traveled through the airport, authorities said. See related article: New Jersey Measles Alert; College Student Flew Into Newark

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