Are you ready for a measles outbreak? Lessons learned from Children’s MN

One lucky attendee will win a $50 Amazon gift card.*

Description:

Although measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, measles remains endemic in many areas of the world. Community immunity against measles requires at least 95% coverage to confer herd immunity., There are many communities within the United States today where the measles immunity rate plummets dangerously below this threshold, despite broad national support for the standard immunization schedule. International travel is accessible and rapid, and it serves as the only spark needed to ignite a measles outbreak, through a susceptible traveler contracting measles from an endemic area and bringing it back to one of these under-immunized communities. This scenario is exactly what happened in Minnesota in 2017, and what has led to continued outbreaks in New York and Washington states today, resulting in the largest number of confirmed cases since 1994. Measles is not a threat of a bygone era – it is impacting us here and now – and its effects on individuals, families, and communities can be devastating. Advocacy, prevention, and preparation are the best interventions we can undertake as health care professionals, systems, and organizations.

Objectives:

1.Recognize basic clinical features of measles and differentiate measles rash from other similar rashes.

2.Briefly describe details that lead to the 2017 Minnesota measles outbreak that heavily impacted the MN Somali community, understanding how it could happen in many communities.

3.Describe exposure reduction interventions implemented at Children’s MN during the 2017 Minnesota measles outbreak.

4.Discuss the Children’s MN post-exposure response plan, including prophylaxis and prioritization of exposed individuals.

5.Review a measles checklist to improve preparedness and infection control response prior to and during a measles outbreak.

Agenda:

11:30AM–12:15PM EST Presentation

12:15PM–12:30PM EST Q&A / gift card drawing

Speakers:

Jennifer Boe, BSN, RN, PHN, CIC, Infection Preventionist, Children's Minnesota

Joe Kurland, MPH, CIC, Infection Preventionist and Vaccine Specialist, Children's Minnesota

**Light refreshments will be provided during the presentation.