CDC issues guidance for clinicians caring for Afghan evacuees

Clinicians caring for individuals recently evacuated from Afghanistan should alert their state or local health department of suspected measles cases, and recommend the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine for unvaccinated patients, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised yesterday, noting that 16 confirmed cases of measles and four cases of mumps have been reported among evacuees to date. CDC also recommends evacuees have up-to-date vaccinations for varicella, polio, COVID-19 and seasonal flu.

In other news, CDC yesterday released new resources to help clinicians recognize multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, a rare but serious immune response associated with COVID-19, and communicate with parents about the diagnosis. Symptoms usually appear within six weeks after a SARS-CoV-2 infection and commonly include an ongoing fever.