Background On August 24, 2011, 31 US-bound refugees from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KL) arrived in Los Angeles. One of them was diagnosed with measles post-arrival. He exposed others during a flight, and persons in the community while disembarking and seeking medical care. As a result, 9 cases of measles were identified. Methods We estimated costs of response to this outbreak and conducted a comparative cost analysis examining what might have happened had all US-bound refugees been vaccinated before leaving Malaysia. Results State-by-state costs differed and variously included vaccination, hospitalization, medical visits, and contact tracing with costs ranging from $621 to $35,115. The total of domestic and IOM Malaysia reported costs for US-bound refugees were $137,505 [range: $134,531 - $142,777 from a sensitivity analysis]. Had all US-bound refugees been vaccinated while in Malaysia, it would have cost approximately $19,646 and could have prevented 8 measles cases. Conclusion A vaccination program for US-bound refugees, supporting a complete vaccination for US-bound refugees, could improve refugees' health, reduce importations of vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States, and avert measles response activities and costs.
Measles is a highly communicable, acute viral illness with potential for severe complications, including death. Although endemic measles was eliminated in the United States in 2000 as a result of widespread vaccination, sporadic measles outbreaks still occur, largely associated with international travel from measles-endemic countries and pockets of unvaccinated persons. On August 26, 2011, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) was notified of suspected measles in a refugee from Burma who had arrived in Los Angeles, California, on August 24, after a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Passengers on the flight included 31 other refugees who then traveled to seven other states, widening the measles investigation and response activities. In California alone, 50 staff members from LACDPH and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) interviewed and reinterviewed 298 contacts. Measles was diagnosed in three contacts of the index patient (patient A). The three contacts with measles were two passengers on the same flight as patient A and a customs worker; no secondary cases were identified. Delayed diagnosis of measles in patient A and delayed notification of health officials precluded use of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine as an outbreak intervention. This outbreak emphasizes the importance of maintaining a high level of vaccination coverage and continued high vigilance for measles in the United States, particularly among incoming international travelers; clinicians should immediately isolate persons with suspected measles and promptly report them to health authorities.