Senate planning on passing a bill to stop measles outbreak in the US
People at the Chicago Midway International Airport and Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital might have been exposed to measles this past week, said the Illinois Department of Public Health. They made this announcement saying that an Illinois resident, unvaccinated and infected with Measles passed through the Midway on Feb. 22.
The official said the infected person whose name they haven’t released yet, entered the Chicago Midway Airport on a flight at around 9 p.m. to midnight on Feb 22. Later he went to the Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Chicago to seek medical help. The Official believe that anyone that came in contact with the infected person might have been exposed.
The health department also added “These are the only known public locations in Illinois where exposures occurred,” and anyone that has been infected will likely to occur symptoms of measles as late a March 20. Those symptoms include cough, running nose, rashes, high fever, and watery eyes.
The cases of measles have been increasing in the US every year with over 100 cases have reported so far in 2019. And scientists have pointed out the reason behind these rising cases of measles is rising Anti-vaccination rates. And to counter this outbreak, last month a bill was introduced in the Senate that aims to stop this outbreak.
This bill would deny parents to willingly opt out of vaccination programs based on “personal reasons.” Representatives at the Senate are hoping that this move will increase the vaccinations rates across the state and put a hold on measles.