CDC: Adopted children from
China spurred 2001 measles outbreakATLANTA - People who adopt foreign children should be properly immunized to avoid diseases from other countries, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.
A child adopted from China led to a measles outbreak of 14 cases in 2001 among adopted children and their family members in eight states.
The outbreak affected 10 adopted children, two adoptive mothers, a caretaker and a 2-year-old from Georgia, the sibling of an adopted child that didn't have measles, the CDC said.
The CDC investigated the outbreak after Texas health officials reported that a 10-month-old was hospitalized with measles. The CDC later discovered the child potentially exposed the disease to dozens of people on the way from China to the United States including 63 adopting families, medical, diplomatic and adoption agency staff and air crew and passengers over the Pacific Ocean.
Internationally adopted children ages 10 or younger are exempt from federal laws requiring vaccinations as long as the new parents will have their adopted children vaccinated within 30 days of entry to the United States.
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