NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Department of Health along with the Shelby County Health Department continued work during the final days of April to stem the spread of measles in the West Tennessee area. TDH and SCHD initially reported two cases of the disease in Shelby County; as of April 25, the case count for those meeting the definition for measles had increased to six. All were in Shelby County.
"As a highly contagious and sometimes serious disease, measles infects approximately 20 million worldwide each year,” said TDH Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. “The good news is most people in the U.S. are protected from imported and sporadic cases by the safe and highly effective MMR vaccine; the worry is infants, people with weakened immune systems, and anyone who is not properly vaccinated and is therefore vulnerable. Since the first confirmed cases in Shelby County, expert public health staff members have worked long and hard to aggressively trace contacts, providing vaccine to the unvaccinated and doing other interventions to protect us and limit spread. Even so, this outbreak will likely get worse before it gets better and we appreciate the cooperation of the hundreds impacted so far.”
Upon confirmation of the first two cases of measles in Shelby County, public health staff members began the important work of ‘contact tracing,’ which involves identifying anyone who may have come in contact with patients diagnosed with measles.
“Contact tracing is our most important activity now, allowing us to quickly help those who may have been exposed to infections and to prevent others from becoming infected,” said SCHD Director Alisa Haushalter, DNP, RN. “We have contacted hospitals, physicians and neighboring counties to keep them updated on this evolving situation.”
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