A clinical worker at Children's Minnesota in Minneapolis contracted the measles amid an ongoing outbreak primarily centered in the Twin Cities. The worker contracted the virus despite being vaccinated, according to MPR News.
Fifty-one people have been infected in the outbreak as of Wednesday, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. All but three of the cases have occurred in children under 17 years old. At least 34 of those infected have been treated at Children's Minnesota.
Sign up for our FREE E-Weekly for more coverage like this sent to your inbox!
"This healthcare worker had two doses of MMR [measles, mumps and rubella] but also had intense exposure to measles ... intense in two ways: one very close-up and one very prolonged," Patsy Stinchfield, RN, the senior director of infection control at Minnesota Children's, told MPR. "The employee is doing well, had an extremely mild case of measles [and] in fact barely knew that the little rash that occurred was measles."
Two doses of the MMR vaccine is 97 percent effective at preventing the measles, according to the CDC.
Forty-six of the measles cases in the Minnesota outbreak have occurred among the Somali Minnesotan community. Immunization rates among this population have declined sharply since 2008 when the community was targeted by those in the anti-vaccination movement.
More articles on infection control: CDC issues new prevention guidelines for surgical site infections: 5 things to knowNorovirus likely cause of outbreak at college baseball tournament
Poor hand hygiene, other safety errors identified at NJ clinic where 40 were infected