(NBC) An outbreak of measles that has sickened 51 people is stretching public health departments thin and costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, officials said Wednesday.
Minnesota Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger asked the state Legislature for $5 million for an emergency fund to deal with the outbreak and other infectious diseases, such as Zika and syphilis.
“In recent months, state and local public health officials have had to respond to a series of infectious disease outbreaks including multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, hundreds of new cases of syphilis, and now, the largest measles outbreak the state has faced in nearly 30 years,” Ehlinger said in a statement.
