A sporadic burst of measles in Minnesota this summer is vexing public health officials, because they haven’t yet nailed down the sources of this highly contagious disease.
A public health investigation is ongoing to find the origins of three infections last month of children 10 and younger from Anoka, Hennepin and Ramsey counties who had no apparent connections with one another. Those three infections led to seven more infections that were reported this week among children who were siblings, cousins, friends or neighbors, said Jayne Griffith, a senior epidemiologist with the Minnesota Department of Health.
The state total stands at 22 measles cases so far this year, all among unvaccinated people, and a couple more are expected to be added.
The latest increase “hasn’t taken us by surprise,” Griffith said. “We have been prepared for the close contacts to become cases.”
Follow-up talks with the three infected children and their parents have unearthed details about the days before they contracted measles.
