Risks to workers who travel abroad

• Travelers to areas where measles is endemic are at increased risk for exposure to measles.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), anyone who travels outside the United States is at increased risk of exposure to measles. Measles is endemic (i.e., routinely spreading) or associated with epidemics (i.e., spreading currently, but not always circulating) in many countries throughout the world. Measles is a common disease in many areas of Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and Africa.

American workers who travel to countries with endemic or epidemic measles may be exposed to the virus. Not only are international travelers at risk of getting measles abroad, but they may also bring the disease back to the United States if they return before they develop measles or during the infectious period. Most U.S. measles cases result from international travel.