The Pennsylvania Department of Health (PDoH) issued a safety signal on Friday after it previously announced a potential measles threat two days back. The State had issued immediate cautionary measures for the public the previous week, suspecting that a potential measles case to have infected people. However, after tests, it is now confirmed that it was a false alarm, and there is no such danger at the time.
On Wednesday, Delaware and Philadelphia’s health officials had announced a potential threat against measles. According to reports, the “likely” infected person had visited a Pharmacy in Wayne on Sunday. On the following day, he was seen in the Please Touch Museum in Fairmount Park. The PDoH had immediately asked people to get checked for infection and, to get the vaccine if they had not been vaccinated previously.
Michael Wolf, the Health Secretary, explained that the department had issued a public notice to ensure caution. The warning was based on the initial information that they received. He further said that the highly contagious disease allows a little time after exposure to be checked by vaccination. Hence, the department issued an alert asking people to immediately get the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine.
The action taken was a necessary preventive step because cases of measles have been seen across the nation in the previous year. The reports are surprising given the fact that it a vaccine preventable disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have put forward data that clearly indicates 20 outbreaks, encompassing as many as 610 cases of the disease. The 2014 data shows a three-fold increase as compared to that of 2001.
However, further investigation was conducted in the state’s lab on the basis of the samples received. The tests confirmed that it was not a measles case, and reports were all negative. The suspect’s identity has been withheld from public knowledge.
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