If you were among the crowds in Indianapolis rooting for the New England Patriots or New York Giants last Sunday, there’s a chance you received more than a beer and barbeque hangover or big foam finger for your troubles: health officials in Indiana report at least two cases of measles in the Super Bowl village.
While the patients who came down with measles didn’t go to the game, they did pass through Super Bowl village along with 200,000 others. Since measles is highly communicable, Indiana officials elected to alert state health departments across the country.
According to Dr. Greg Wallace of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), measles have been basically “eliminated in the U.S.,” however cases have increased in the last decade, with more than 200 reported last year.
It is unclear as to how the patients in Indiana caught the bug, but they are expected to make full recoveries.
If you’re looking for some kind of Contagion or The Stand-like outbreak, however, it won’t come from measles; the measles vaccine is reportedly 95-99% effective. If you’ve been vaccinated, you can probably enjoy your foam number 1 finger in unspotted peace.
