Measles outbreak erupts on Marshall Islands

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) — An outbreak of measles in the Republic of the Marshall Islands has infected nearly 650 people, killing three, U.S. health officials said Thursday.

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) — An outbreak of measles in the Republic of the Marshall Islands has infected nearly 650 people, killing three, U.S. health officials said Thursday. The outbreak is the worst under U.S. jurisdiction since a 1992 outbreak in Texas that infected 1,100 people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The CDC provides some health services, including measles vaccines, to the central Pacific island chain, a former U.S. trust territory of more than 50,000 people midway between Hawaii and Australia. The CDC said that 647 cases of measles have been reported since July in the islands, with 58 people hospitalized. An additional 74 suspected cases are being investigated. Before the outbreak, less than 75 percent of children under 13 had been vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella. As of Saturday, vaccination coverage increased to 98 percent of people 6 months to 40 years old. CDC director Dr. Julie Gerberding said the agency would investigate why vaccination levels were so low. (Source: CNN, 18 Sept 2003)