Pa. measles cases traced to Indian child

PITTSBURGH, April 20 (UPI) -- An investigation tracking the source of a Pennsylvania measles outbreak to a child visiting from India came as no surprise, health officials say.

The March measles outbreak, which affected at least five other children, including two Pittsburgh-area preschool siblings and their 33-year-old father, prompted a massive investigation by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Allegheny County Health Department, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Monday.

When officials traced the outbreak to the Indian girl, they were not surprised because India accounted for an estimated 67 percent of the 197,000 measles deaths worldwide in 2007, the newspaper said.

Athalia Christie, senior technical adviser with the American Red Cross in Washington, told the Post-Gazette India is a complicated country where controlling any disease is tough, but said New Delhi is making strides.

"We are encouraged by some progress recently," she said. "Four states in India have begun planning immunization campaigns, and certainly the measles initiative is ready and willing to provide support for governments. It is our aim to reduce global deaths and reduce importation of measles (into the United States)."