On Tuesday, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced that the total number of confirmed measles cases in the outbreak that began last month has now reached 50.
Of the two additional cases reported over the past 24 hours, one was confirmed in an adult, the other was confirmed in a child between the ages of 10 and 17.
That brings the total number of cases diagnosed in adults to three. Forty-six cases have been diagnosed in children ages 0-10 years, and one case has been diagnosed in a child between the ages of 10 and 17.
One of the three infected adults “is the parent of an infected child, according to the Minnesota Health Department,” the Star Tribune reported.
Forty-five of the 50 cases are “Somali Minnesotans.”
The two new cases were diagnosed in Hennepin County, part of the metropolitan Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
The 50 cases break down geographically as follows, according to the MDH:
47 in Hennepin County
2 in Ramsey County
1 in Crow Wing County
“Vaccination status” for those 50 cases breaks down as follows, according to the MDH:
45 confirmed to be unvaccinated
1 had 1 dose of MMR
2 had 2 doses of MMR
1 case has unknown vaccination status
“Several major Twin Cities hospitals and clinic systems announced precautionary limits on visitors Monday,” the Star Tribune reported.
“Allina Health said Monday morning that it’s asking that children under age 5 not visit its hospitals unless they are seeking care. All children under age 11 are asked to wear a mask while visiting Allina clinics or hospitals,” the Star Tribune added:
In addition, anyone with a cough or a sore throat is asked to wear a mask while in a hospital.
Allina joins Fairview Health System, which also has placed restrictions on children under 5 as well as anyone who is unvaccinated for the measles or who is ill. Anyone with possible measles symptoms is asked to wear a mask.
Allina owns Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, United in St. Paul, Mercy in Coon Rapids and nine smaller regional hospitals.
“Visitor restrictions by Minnesota hospitals are not uncommon during disease outbreaks. In January, Allina instituted restrictions because of the seasonal flu outbreak,” the Star Tribune reported.
Last May, several employees of Allina Health were diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB), as Breitbart News reported at the time:
Two workers at Mercy Hospital and Abbot Northwestern Hospital, both located in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area and owned by Allina Health, have been diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB).
“I can confirm that one hospital worker at Mercy Hospital and one hospital worker at Abbott Northwestern Hospital were diagnosed with active TB,” Allina Health Vice President of Marketing and Communications David Kanihan tells Breitbart News.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area has the largest Somali community in the United States, estimated to be around 70,000 in total. It is also a center of refugee resettlement, particularly for Somalis.
“Almost 45 percent [of the 2,338 refugees resettled in Minnesota during 2015] hailed from Somalia . . . Roughly three-quarters of the newcomers settled in Hennepin and Ramsey counties [the two most populous counties in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area],” the Star Tribune reported.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.