America worried about Europe’s measles outbreak

Europe is currently facing an outbreak of measles, so US health officials are urging Americans traveling to London for the Olympics to make sure they are up-to-date with measles immunizations. Health experts explain that huge public events, like the Olympics, increase the likelihood of infection among unvaccinated people and affected individuals might unknowingly carry the disease home. With the London Olympics opening on July 27 and the Euro 2012 soccer cup beginning on June 8, US health officials are afraid that the disease would travel from the affected regions of Europe to America with returning travellers. The Director of CDC’s Global Immunization Division, Rebecca Martin, was reported as saying, “Any disease knows no borders. We are concerned about Americans coming back from the Olympics this summer and unknowingly infecting others”. Last year about 26,000 cases of measles were reported in Europe and about eight deaths related to it were also registered. The disease travelled...