Analyzing Measles Outbreak: Role of Nurses in Prevention Control

This discussion paper examines a measles outbreak originating from an international tourist visiting Disneyland, leading to infections among unvaccinated individuals and infants too young for vaccination. The paper highlights the spread of the highly contagious measles virus (genotype B3), linking it to similar outbreaks in the Philippines. It emphasizes the crucial role of nurses in preventing and controlling infectious diseases through various interventions. Primary care nurses focus on disinfection and hand hygiene, while community nurses promote vaccination education. Home health nurses ensure patient isolation and proper disposal of contaminated materials. The paper underscores the importance of vaccination and stringent hygiene practices in mitigating the spread of measles, with nurses serving as key players in these efforts. Desklib provides access to similar solved assignments for students.

Running head: DISCUSSION PAPER
Discussion paper
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1DISCUSSION PAPER
Spread of Measles outbreak
The international tourist from Philippines visited Disney amusement park with
measles infections. There has been no evidence whether he had any vaccination report on
measles. Among Californian individuals who visited Disneyland, 110 among them were
infected with measles, 12 of which were infants who were too young to undergo vaccination.
5 of the infected had prior administration of single dosage of vaccination, many had
encountered no vaccinations (Phadke et al., 2016). This indicates that the measles outbreak
had spread from the international tourist at a local as well as national level. The transmission
of measles occur through airborne or direct contact with the infected person. Many
Californian individuals visiting the amusement park have been in contact with the coughing
or sneezing droplets by the infected tourist. Most of these individuals had no prior
vaccination dosage, few had only a single dosage of vaccination. The lack of vaccination
among these individuals has been a major cause of the local as well as national spread of
measles (Phadke et al., 2016). The seriously contagious measles spreads through airspace; the
strain identified for measles outbreak (genotype B3) had caused similar outbreaks in
Philippines, thereby making it a global as well as a national outbreak.
Role of nurses in prevention control
The prevention of infectious diseases rests with the nursing care interventions. The
primary care nurses were concerned with disinfection procedures; proper hand hygiene using
antiseptics and antimicrobial soaps before and after handling of infected patients. The
community nurses promoted education to the families on the necessity of vaccinations to
prevent the spread of infectious diseases (Shakoor et al., 2015). The home health nurses
ensured that the infected patient is kept isolated and sterile measures taken for safety disposal

2DISCUSSION PAPER
of patients’ disposal items. The primary care nurses provided vaccinations to the infected and
ensured proper cleaning routines to achieve patient safety and care.

3DISCUSSION PAPER
References
Phadke, V. K., Bednarczyk, R. A., Salmon, D. A., & Omer, S. B. (2016). Association
between vaccine refusal and vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States: a
review of measles and pertussis. Jama, 315(11), 1149-1158.
doi:10.1001/jama.2016.1353
Shakoor, S., Mir, F., Zaidi, A. K., & Zafar, A. (2015). Hospital preparedness in community
measles outbreaks—challenges and recommendations for low-resource
settings. Emerging health threats journal, 8(1), 24173. doi.org/10.3402/ehtj.v8.24173