Developments in Brief : Measles’ Spread Traced to Medical Offices

The transmission of measles in hospitals and doctors’ offices has increased by more than 600% in the last three years, federal health officials say.

In a recent outbreak in New Mexico, nine patients at adjoining doctors’ offices got measles after visiting the offices during a 5 1/2-hour period.

Measles is a once-common childhood feverish rash that was believed to have been nearly eradicated in the United States five years ago. But it has made a comeback and last year it struck more than 6,000 Americans.

With that resurgence has come an increased spread in clinics and doctors’ offices. From 1980 to 1982, seven of every 1,000 cases were acquired in a medical setting; by 1985, the number was 47 out of 1,000, the Centers for Disease Control said.

Measles once struck as many as 5 million people a year and killed hundreds. The advent of a vaccine in 1963 triggered a sharp decline in the disease, but eradication has proved elusive.