BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Lehigh Valley health officials are monitoring a measles outbreak in nearby Philadelphia, where eight cases have been confirmed.
Two potential exposures also have been reported in Montgomery County.
There currently are no cases of measles at St. Luke’s University Health Network, but that could change, said Dr. Jeffrey Jahre, St. Luke’s senior vice president of medical and academic affairs and section chief emeritus of infectious diseases.
"This is a season for major respiratory transmitted illnesses, and so far, the ones that we've been talking about are COVID, RSV, the common cold and influenza. And all of those have traditionally been around this year and then what we added recently was whooping cough or pertussis. Now what we're seeing, if we didn't have enough to deal with, is measles."Dr. Jeffrey Jahre, St. Luke’s senior vice president of medical and academic affairs and section chief emeritus of infectious diseases
"This is a season for major respiratory transmitted illnesses, and so far, the ones that we've been talking about are COVID, RSV, the common cold and influenza," Jahre said.
"And all of those have traditionally been around this year and then what we added recently was whooping cough or pertussis.
“Now what we're seeing, if we didn't have enough to deal with, is measles."
Jahre said no measles cases have been seen in the Lehigh Valley yet.
Lehigh Valley Health Network also is reporting that there have been no cases of measles there during this most recent outbreak.
The eight cases in Philadelphia are mainly being treated at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
'Educating doctors and patients'
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of Jan. 4, a total of 48 measles cases were reported by 20 jurisdictions.
But Jahre said St. Luke’s is educating its doctors and patients on the signs and symptoms at their locations throughout the Valley.
“It starts out in a fairly abrupt manner with high fevers — and we're talking about fevers here that can be significantly elevated to 104," he said.
"Secondly, there is also a cough, frequently a sore throat and there's also conjunctivitis and watery eyes.”
Jahre said that generally within five days, there is a raised rash that develops from the head down. There also can be lesions in the mouth that precede the rash.
Other complications
Jahre said measles can be very dangerous to some groups of people.
“Individuals who are under the age of 5 or over the age of 20, anyone who has major comorbidities with underlying diseases, anyone who has problems with their immune system, measles can be catastrophic in those individuals," he said.
"One of the more frequent complications in high-risk individuals is pneumonia and pneumonia with measles has a significant death rate. Another complication is encephalitis or an infection of the brain itself.”Dr. Jeffrey Jahre, St. Luke’s senior vice president of medical and academic affairs and section chief emeritus of infectious diseases
"And one of the more frequent complications in high-risk individuals is pneumonia and pneumonia with measles has a significant death rate.
"Another complication is encephalitis or an infection of the brain itself.”
Jahrer said the uptick in cases is because of more people choosing not to vaccinate their children.
“There's an increasing number of people who have decided that they are philosophically ethically against having childhood vaccinations, and this leaves us with a larger pool of children who then can communicate this disease which is extremely transmissible to others,” he said.
Pennsylvania is among the minority of states that allows for exemptions of childhood vaccinations for philosophical, ethical and religious reasons.
