Re: ND: Rubella case
Source:
http://www.in-forum.com/ap/index.cfm?page=view&id=D9180OAO1
Rubella case confirmed in ND
By BLAKE NICHOLSON
The Associated Press - Wednesday, June 11, 2008
BISMARCK, N.D.
State health officials have quarantined a Cass County man who contracted the first case of rubella in North Dakota in 17 years and say the risk of the case resulting in an outbreak is minimal.
Officials have been tracking down people in several states who might have had contact with the man, and two people have been vaccinated as a precaution.
Laboratory tests confirmed that the man has the illness, which also is known as German measles. Health officials said the man recently traveled to India, where he likely contracted the illness. He was not identified.
The man was put under quarantine last Friday after his doctor notified the state Health Department. He was to be released from quarantine on Thursday, said Molly Sander, the department's immunization program manager.
Sander estimated that the man had been out in public for about a week while contagious before he was quarantined.
"You're contagious generally seven days before until seven days after the onset of the rash," she said.
Rubella, or German measles, is a viral illness that is characterized by a mild rash. Health officials say it generally causes little harm but can cause serious birth defects, such as deafness or blindness, if a pregnant woman falls ill.
"It's not as contagious as (regular) measles, which is spread more by the airborne route," Sander said. "This tends to be more what we call droplet - coughing, sneezing, that sort of thing."
The man's vaccination history is not known. Sander said health officials have identified more than a dozen people who have had contact with him, including three who had "close" contact. Some of the people had contact through air travel, and some were from other states.
Sander referred questions about which states to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Sander said North Dakota health officials on Wednesday were still trying to get ahold of a couple of people who might have had contact with the man.
The likelihood of those people having been vaccinated against rubella is high. The immunization is required for all children attending day cares, schools and colleges in North Dakota.
The last case of rubella in North Dakota was in 1991, when a Morton County boy came down with the illness, Sander said. There also was one case reported in the state in 1990 and one in 1989, she said.
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On the Net:
CDC:
http://www.cdc.gov
N.D. Health Department:
http://www.health.state.nd.us
