An Army facility in Wisconsin that is involved in receiving Afghan refugees recently identified one case of the Measles.
Fox News reported that an internal government email indicated that Fort McCoy confirmed the case of the illness on Sunday
“All those who had been in contact with the infected person at base have been isolated, and post-exposure prophylaxis and inoculations are in process,” the notice stated, according to the outlet.
The document noted that because of the contagiousness of the measles the facility was not taking evacuees “at this time” and was seeking to obtain the needed vaccines, but a spokesperson for Task Force McCoy said the facility was still taking Afghans, according to Fox News.
Fox News reported that a U.S. official confirmed to the outlet that one case of the illness had been found during the health screening process.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Democratic Rep. Ron Kind of Wisconsin said a case of the measles had been identified at the military facility and those who were around the infected individual are now quarantined.
Measles is very contagious, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which says it “is so contagious that if one person has it, up to 90% of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected.”
“It can spread to others through coughing and sneezing,” according to the CDC. “If other people breathe the contaminated air or touch the infected surface, then touch their eyes, noses, or mouths, they can become infected.”
Many Afghans have recently been transported into the U.S.
President Biden has been widely panned for botching the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, where the Taliban seized the capital of Kabul and the U.S. was left scrambling to evacuate its citizens and others before announcing the completion of its pullout last week.
Some U.S. citizens and many Afghan allies remain stuck in Afghanistan following the U.S. pullout.
