Virginia and Wisconsin officials say six people who recently traveled to the United States from Afghanistan have been diagnosed with measles
RICHMOND, Va. – Six people who recently traveled to the United States after fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan have been diagnosed with measles, officials said Tuesday.
Cases in Virginia and Wisconsin are reported four days after the United States stopped domestic flights of Afghan evacuees after the discovery of some cases of measles among newcomers.
A case was confirmed Sept. 5 at Fort McCoy, an army base in western Wisconsin that temporarily houses 8,000 people as they prepare to move across the country.
Cheryl Phillips, a spokeswoman for a task force that monitors refugees at Fort McCoy, said one person presented with symptoms on Sept. 4 after arriving at the base that same day.
The person was placed isolated and other potentially exposed people were quarantined and given measles vaccines, Phillips said.
The Virginia Department of Health initially said Friday that three people who arrived from Afghanistan had been diagnosed with measles in northern Virginia. The agency said it was informing people who were at risk of possible exposure at places that included Dulles International Airport and two local hospitals.
The agency updated the number of measles cases to five on Tuesday. Health officials said they were working to notify people potentially exposed to an unidentified Richmond hospital, as well as Fort Pickett, a National Guard base in southwest Richmond that provides temporary housing for evacuees. newly arrived.
Measles is a highly contagious disease that can be spread through coughing, sneezing, and contact with drops from the nose, mouth, or throat. Most Americans are vaccinated against it when they are children.
Virginia reports its measles cases after the U.S. government stopped Afghan evacuated flights to the United States on Friday. The decision was made by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the arrest stemmed from the discovery of measles among four Afghans who had arrived in the United States.
The development prompted U.S. officials abroad to remove from the planes Afghan families who had already fought for a grueling and dangerous escape to security after Kabul fell to the Taliban on 15 August. A suicide bombing at the airport gate killed 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. military personnel.
A government document seen by The Associated Press said the arrest would “severely impact” operations at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, one of the largest transit sites. He also said flights to the United States would stop from the U.S. base at Al-Udeid in Qatar.
Many thousands of Afghan evacuees transferred by air from Kabul are still on their way to new homes in the United States. Some are facing relocation for future tests in Kosovo.