The U.S. declared the measles virus eradicated more than 20 years ago, but clusters of outbreaks have popped up. There’s one now in Florida.
As of Thursday, the Florida Department of Health reported nine confirmed cases in Broward County. The outbreak started at an elementary school two weeks ago. There has also been a case reported in Polk County, which is thought to be related to travel.
Measles is very contagious and can be fatal.
The health department has not declared a public health emergency. State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo wrote a letter to parents of the school experiencing the outbreak that it was up to them if they wanted to send their children back to class, even if they’re not vaccinated against this virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends unvaccinated children stay home for three weeks.
Despite the CDC and state health department’s websites calling for vaccination as the best way to protect against the measles, Ladapo did not urge Floridians to get their children vaccinated.
This week, the congresswoman representing the area where the school with the measles outbreak occurred criticized the state’s surgeon general response. Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz called Ladapo grossly irresponsible.
The most recent update on the Health Department’s website is from a week ago and directed at health care providers.
Dr. Aileen Marty, an infectious disease specialist at Florida International University in Miami, joined the The Florida Roundup on Friday to speak on the disease and outbreak. Here are some highlights from the conversation:
Vaccination rates declined during the pandemic
The CDC estimates 61 million doses of the MMR vaccine were missed during 2020 to 2022, at the height of the COVID pandemic.
“And that allows for a lot more people to be susceptible just by itself and some of that wasn't because of vaccine hesitancy, but simply the difficulty of getting to the child vaccinated during that era,” Marty said.
The chances of infection
For an unvaccinated child, Marty said the chances of coming down with the measles if they're exposed is somewhere between 90% and 95%. For a fully vaccinated child, the chance of having any symptoms from being infected with the measles virus is little less than 2%.
“And once you are infected with the virus, you have about a 1-in-5 chance of having a problem that's going to lead that child to need hospitalization," Marty said. "So this is a virus that can cause a series of problems.”
Marty said this virus targets those key medical stem cells: those cells in the bone marrow that make your red blood cells, your white blood cells, and your platelets. This can cause anemia and immune system suppression, making children susceptible to secondary infections for months afterward.
Who can get vaccinated?
The MMR vaccine protects against the measles, mumps, and rubella.
According to the CDC, children can get their first dose between 12 and 15 months of age, and their second dose from 4-6 years of age.
Teenagers and adults with no evidence of immunity should be vaccinated as soon as possible.
People who are currently pregnant should not get vaccinated, because the vaccine uses a live virus.
“The vaccine strain doesn't get into the same receptors and doesn't use the same receptors that the wild virus does. And therefore, it is mild and doesn't and cannot cause the complications that you get from the wild virus,” Marty said.
Marty said virtually everyone before 1957 was infected with the measles, making those individuals immune. The vaccine was licensed in the United States in 1963.
She said adults vaccinated in the 1970s only got one dose, and therefore need a booster now.
What are the symptoms of measles?
Symptoms typically appear 7-14 days after a person has been infected and include:
- High fever
- Cough
- Runny nose
- Red, watery eyes
- Within three to five days, a rash often develops on the face and neck, and can spread to the rest of the body.
