Measles outbreak spreads to Virginia, 15 total states

WSLS News Staff
Published: July 10, 2008

A measles outbreak has a Virginia tie.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say more than 120 cases of the disease have been reported since the start of 2008.

One of the cases has been confirmed in Virginia.  The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) says that case is in northern Virginia, and was first reported in March.  The Roanoke area has not seen a case of measles since 1999, according to Bobby Parker with the Alleghany Health District of the VDH.

The CDC says the measles cases are tied to overseas travelers, who came to the U.S. and infected others.  The CDC believes many of the cases are tied to people who have not been vaccinated against measles.

The measles outbreak expansion was first reported by the international news service Reuters.  Click here for a link to their story