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Scottish Authorities Fear Measles Outbreak

Posted on: Wednesday, 5 April 2006, 21:00 CDT

By SUEVON LEE

LONDON - Scottish authorities are urging individuals to be vaccinated against measles amid fears of an outbreak after the first recorded death from the disease in the United Kingdom in 14 years, officials said Wednesday.

The 13-year-old boy, who died last month in the county of Dumfries and Galloway, was part of a traveling community and had not been vaccinated. He was also suffering from an underlying lung condition, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Three other adult cases have been confirmed while nine suspected cases are being investigated, said Dr. David Breen, a public health consultant in the region in southwest Scotland.

"We are reasonably concerned this could be the start of a much bigger outbreak," Breen said.

Elsewhere, six nurses at Central Middlesex Hospital in London were also confirmed to have contracted the disease after possibly caring for an infected child.

"An infection seems to be getting on the move, so people should now go and pick up their two doses of (the vaccine)," Breen said.

Despite urging caution, Scottish health authorities stressed no evidence was found of any widespread transmission in or around affected communities.

The Scottish region where the cases have been reported has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, at 93 percent. The World Health Organization recommends a 95 percent rate of vaccination to prevent a measles outbreak.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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