U.S. health authorities have updated their guidance for travelers regarding measles, now recommending vaccination against the virus irrespective of the destination.
US residents are recommended to get measles-mumps-rubella shots, anyway. But the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) previously emphasised the importance of vaccination for travellers going to countries with outbreaks.
The previous week, the CDC revised its recommendations to advocate for vaccinations for individuals traveling to every other country.
Ashley Darcy-Mahoney, who works as a researcher at George Washington University's nursing school in the U.S., described the update as substantial.
A Colorado outbreak last month stemmed from an international flight that landed in Denver, she noted. The CDC travel notice change reflects a recognition that people are not just being exposed to measles in countries where it's spreading, but also in airplanes and during travel, she added.
"There's been a transition from localized outbreaks to transmissions occurring during travel," Darcy-Mahoney noted, indicating that the CDC appears to be addressing this change.
Following the guidelines set by the European Union, the CDC’s travel advisory recommends administering two doses of the vaccine to all Americans aged 1 and above, as well as providing an initial dose for traveling infants between 6 months and 11 months old.
In the meantime, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) suggests that travelers check that their vaccinations are current prior to departing internationally.
Up until now this year, over 1,000 measles cases have been recorded in the United States, while the European Union has documented more than 5,500 instances of the disease.
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