Health Highlights: Feb. 26, 2018

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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Tourist With Measles Visited Numerous Sites in New York: Health Officials

An Australian tourist with the measles recently visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as hotels and health care facilities in and around New York City, potentially exposing other people to the measles, state health officials say.

They added that the risk of developing measles is low, especially for people who have been immunized.

The tourist was part of an Oasis Bible Tour group and between Feb. 16-21. Anyone who visited the following locations may have been exposed to the measles, the New York State Department of Health said.

The locations include:

• La Quinta Inn, 31 W. 71st Street, New York, NY, between Feb. 16 and the morning of Feb. 19;
• Oasis Bible Tours at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 5th Avenue, New York, NY, the morning of Feb.16 and the evening of Feb. 17;
• Watchtower Educational Center, 100 Watchtower Drive, Patterson, NY, between 12:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. on Feb.19;
• Best Western Hotel, 1324 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, from Feb. 19 until 12:00 p.m. on Feb. 20;
• Comfort Inn & Suites Goshen Middletown, 20 Hatfield Lane, Goshen, NY, from 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 20 until 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 21;
• Excel Urgent Care, 1 Hatfield Lane, Goshen, NY, between 8:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 21;
• Orange Regional Medical Center, Emergency Department, 707 E. Main Street, Middletown, NY, between 9:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. on Feb. 21.

The measles infection rate is 90 percent for nonimmunized people who come near an active spreader, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Washington Post reported.

“Those individuals lacking immunity or who are not sure if they have been vaccinated, should contact their health care provider if they develop measles symptoms. Symptoms include a fever, rash, cough, conjunctivitis or runny nose. Symptoms usually appear in 10-12 days after exposure. Individuals who may have been exposed and who lack immunity could begin experiencing symptoms at this time,” the state health department news release said.

“To prevent the spread of illness, the Department is advising individuals who may have been exposed and who have symptoms consistent with measles to contact their health care provider, a local clinic, or a local emergency department before going for care. This will help to prevent others at these facilities from being exposed to the illness.”

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Reward Offered in Case of Missing CDC Employee

A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and indictment in the case of a missing U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employee.

Police say Timothy Cunningham, 35, was last seen on Feb. 12, The New York Times reported.

Last July, Cunningham was promoted to commander in the United States Public Health Service in July, according to his family. They have teamed up with Crime Stoppers of Greater Atlanta to offer the reward.

“As of today we have been unable to locate Mr. Cunningham and we are seeking the assistance of the public with this case,” Officer Donald Hannah of the Atlanta Police Department said in an email on Saturday, The Times reported.

Police have found no evidence of foul play, according to Hannah.

Terrell Cunningham told The Times his son had “a lot going on” personally and professionally.

The CDC website says Cunningham has been deployed for public health emergencies such as outbreaks of Ebola and the Zika virus.

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Iceland Bill Would Ban Circumcision of Boys

A proposal to ban the circumcision of boys for non-medical reasons is being considered in Iceland. If passed, it would be the first such law in Europe.

Circumcision of boys is typically performed on newborns, and the proposed law says this is a violation of human rights “since boys are not able to give an informed consent of an irreversible physical intervention,” the Associated Press reported.

“This is fundamentally about not causing unnecessary harm to a child,” said Silja Dogg Gunnarsdottir, of the centrist Progressive Party, who introduced the bill this month.

Under the bill, circumcision of boys would be considered the same as female genital mutilation and punishable by up to six years in prison, the AP reported.

Some religious leaders in Iceland and other parts of Europe say the proposed ban is an attack on religious freedom. Male circumcision is traditionally practiced by Jews and Muslims.

The bill appears to have little support in the Iceland parliament, but is backed by 422 Icelandic doctors who favor outlawing the practice, the AP reported.

In a joint statement, the doctors said circumcision violates the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and also the physicians’ Hippocratic Oath that states: “First, do no harm.”

“In Western societies, circumcision of healthy boys has no significant health benefits,” according to the statement, citing a 2013 paper in the American Academy of Pediatrics journal, the AP reported.

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