Pennsylvania warns doctors about measles in pregnancy after 66 women are infected
Pennsylvania's measles outbreak is at 1,286 cases in 42 counties, and 66 pregnant women are among the infected. Doctors have reported at least six babies born with congenital measles, two of them sick enough with pneumonia to need intensive care, according to NBC News. How many of those pregnancies ended badly is something the state won't say, because Pennsylvania law bars the disclosure of pregnancy outcomes. On Monday the Department of Health sent clinicians new guidance: a pregnant woman without immunity who is exposed to measles has six days to receive immunoglobulin. The MMR vaccine can't be given during pregnancy, though it's safe after delivery and while breastfeeding. Vaccination before pregnancy remains the only real protection.
Sources: International Business Times, Pennsylvania Department of Health, NBC News
Image: CDC on Unsplash
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