Is the County You Call Home a Potential Measles Hotspot?

Could a computer model pinpoint where measles outbreaks are likely to occur?

That's exactly what researchers did, accurately predicting some of the U.S. regions where measles might spread. Their predictions included counties in New York, Washington state and Oregon, where measles outbreaks are already raging. In total, 25 counties were identified as measles-prone.

Not only that, most of the counties that have reported measles cases as of April 2019 are among those 25 counties or next to one of them, according to the researchers.

The recent surge in measles is due to a combination of travelers returning from countries with measles outbreaks, and low vaccination rates in certain regions of the United States fueled by the anti-vaccination movement, the researchers said.

"There has been a resurgence of measles cases, among other vaccine-preventable diseases, in the U.S. and other countries in recent years," said study co-corresponding author Lauren Gardner, an associate professor of civil engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

"Measles, in particular, poses a serious public health threat due to the highly contagious nature of the disease," Gardner added in a university news release. "It is therefore critical that we proactively identify areas most likely to experience outbreaks to strategically target for surveillance and control."

Register as Visitor to CPhI China 2019!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Editor's Note:

To apply for becoming a contributor of En-CPhI.cn,

welcome to send your CV and sample works to us,

Email: Julia.Zhang@ubmsinoexpo.com.