A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has raised concerns that travelers who are visiting Europe can bring home potentially new cases of measles.
Health authorities said that Europe is experiencing a surge in measles cases by 300 percent in the first three months of this year when compared with the same period of last year.
They said the vast majority of cases are in Ukraine, France, Greece, and Italy, making unvaccinated travelers extremely vulnerable to the infection.
Dr. Kristina Angelo, the CDC infectious disease specialist, said, “When these international travelers from the United States go abroad, like the European region and come back home, they actually spread the disease to under-immunized or un-immunized folks in the United States also.”
In the United States, measles cases are already at their highest levels than in 1992. The CDC has recommended travelers to get MMR vaccine at least four weeks prior to travel. The agency also recommended an early, booster dose for babies between the ages 6 and 11 months before travel.
