(NewsNation) — Amid a measles outbreak that represents nearly 50% of confirmed cases in the United States and that has been centered at a migrant shelter, Chicago health officials are seeing a decrease in those testing positive for the contagious disease.
The Chicago Department of Public Health said Friday that officials confirmed only four new cases this week, taking the city’s total to 57 cases. The majority of the measles cases remain linked to the city’s largest migrant shelter in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood.
Of the 57 cases, 33 involve children below the age of 5, which officials say underscores the importance of childhood vaccination.
City health officials reported that more than 6,000 migrants and asylum-seekers have received the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine since the first measles case was confirmed in Chicago in mid-March.
Yet despite a recent drop in cases, which have been declining since March 24 when 14 cases had been reported, Chicago’s cases are the highest in the country. As of Friday, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention have reported 113 confirmed cases, 61 of which exist in Illinois, including four that have been confirmed in Chicago suburban counties.
Florida has reported 10 to 19 cases, according to the CDC. Each of the other 16 other jurisdictions where measles have been detected have confirmed between one and nine cases.
The CDC sent a team to Chicago to help local health officials deal with the outbreak. In the first two days after the initial case was confirmed, 900 people at the Pilsen shelter were vaccinated, while another 700 were found to have either been previously vaccinated or had previous exposure to measles.
A CDC spokesman told NewsNation this week that it is still investigating the source of the initial Chicago case.
Since the outbreak started, the city health department said it has hosted more than 75 MMR vaccine events at the city’s 23 migrant shelters since the beginning of March. The city also continues to provide vaccinations at the city’s landing zone for those who need them.
Ald. Raymond Lopez told NewsNation this week he believes that migrants should be vaccinated “to the American standard” when they arrive. Lopez says he has raised the alarm on migrant health issues since last fall when he said cases of measles and tuberculosis were being found in migrants sleeping in local police precincts.
The city only announced a “small number” of confirmed TB cases at a few migrant shelters this week. The city has not specified how many cases exist and what shelters are available.
