Measles outbreaks in religious groups exempt from immunization laws.

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Public Health Rep
• Personal Author:
  Novotny, Thomas ; Jennings, Charles E. ; Doran, Mary ; March, C. Ralph ; Hopkins, Richard S. ; Wassilak, Steven G. F. ; Markowitz, Lauri E.
• Description:
  State immunization laws which exempt religious groups present difficult problems in disease control in measles epidemics. Two outbreaks are described, 136 cases in a college for Christian Scientists, and 51 cases associated with a camp attended by Christian Scientists. Control measures at the college included immunization and quarantine. An alternative strategy at the camp consisted of dispersal of exposed persons from the camp and their being quarantined in their home States. Three deaths (case-fatality ratio = 2.2 percent) were reported at the college; no serious complications were reported from the camp-associated epidemic. No transmission into the general community occurred in either epidemic. Public health officials are encouraged to be aware of the legal rights and obligations of religiously exempt groups so that outbreaks in these groups can be effectively controlled, even if standard immunization strategies are not possible. Early reporting and rapid case identification, investigation, and quarantine or vaccination procedures by public health workers are necessary for disease control in these settings.
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Child Christian Science Disease Outbreaks Female Humans Legislation, Medical Measles Quarantine Religion And Medicine Research Article Seasons Universities Vaccination

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• Source:
  Public Health Rep. 103(1):49-54
• Pubmed ID:
  3124197
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMCnull
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; Illinois
• Volume:
  103
• Issue:
  1
• Collection(s):
  Public Health Reports
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:f6b393615e9bef403e3a510c6ce9404a4030794e8a495063d03afdda75b55d6b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/63122/cdc_63122_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.54 MB ]