Washington woman’s measles death is first in US since 2003

Measles cases are uncommon.

3 to 5 days after symptoms begin: a red or reddish-brown raised rash that feels like sandpaper appears, usually beginning on the face.

Washington has recorded its first known measles death in 12 years after an autopsy revealed that an undetected infection was the underlying cause of a woman’s death. Typically, the measles virus is very easily beaten with effective medication, but the women showed no classic signs like itching.

The case was not related to an outbreak that started in December at Disneyland, according to state health officials.

The MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccine had completely eradicated the threat of measles from the USA, however, with the rise of the anti-vaccine campaigners the virus seems to have made a return.

While the US officially eradicated the disease in 2000, a growing anti-vaccination wave has gained hold in some parts of the country. But the streak has ended. There are a number of more common infectious that doctors would suspect before they would think of measles, especially because the woman did not have textbook symptoms of measles, said Adalja, who was not involved in the woman’s case.

The unnamed woman’s official cause of death was “pneumonia due to measles”, the Washington State Department of Health announced in a statement. The woman, who was at the same medical facility where multiple cases were later reported, had several other health conditions that contributed to a suppressed immune system, officials said.

“She was there at the same time as a person who later developed a rash and was contagious for measles”.

By keeping overall levels of measles low, vaccinated people create a wall of protection that prevents disease among vulnerable people, including babies too young to have received their first shots, said William Schaffner, a professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville. He added that even after vaccination, their immune system may not work properly when exposed to the disease.

Measles is highly contagious and spreads when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. In 1963, the first measles vaccine was introduced.

The woman’s family asked health officials withhold her identity but they agreed to lab testing, which led to the discovery of measles.