Arizona measles outbreak grows to 22 confirmed cases

An outbreak of measles associated with a private Arizona immigration detention center has grown to 22 confirmed cases, according to news releases from the Arizona Department of Health Services and other public officials.

All cases are among detainees or detention center staff living within Pinal County, with the exception of one person who was released and resides in Maricopa County, Graham Briggs, MS, administrator for infectious diseases and epidemiology for the Pinal County Public Health Services, told Infectious Disease News.

Since the outbreak was detected, Briggs said all of the detainees and many of the staff have received vaccination to limit transmission within the affected facility. However, he said, the department’s primary concern is preventing the disease’s spread into the local community.

“When people become infectious, a lot of the time they don’t realize that they are getting measles, so they could be exposing other people in the community … like a 6-month-old baby too young to be vaccinated,” Briggs said. “We’ve been working very hard to identify staff that have been exposed and trying to isolate them at home as they are getting sick so they limit exposure to the community.”

Although a number of public areas have been identified for potential exposures — including supermarkets, grocery stores and pharmacies — Briggs believed additional community cases were unlikely, as the last confirmed public exposure is nearing the end of the 21-day incubation period. A handful of additional confirmations are expected once testing results are received from the CDC, but these historic cases would not impact further transmission, he said.

“They’re not exposing people right now — we have already investigated their contacts … like they were a case,” Briggs said. “These are people who were sick at the beginning of June, who are not a threat to the community at this point.”

There have been 46 cases of measles confirmed this year in the U.S., according to the CDC. Persons who believe they are infected with measles are advised to seek medical attention, and health care providers who suspect measles infection are required to report all cases to their local health department. – by Dave Muoio

Disclosure: Briggs reports no relevant financial disclosures.