An outbreak of measles at Manatee Bay Elementary School in Weston, Florida resulted in six people being diagnosed with measles.
The Broward County, Florida, Health Department announced Friday in a notification to local health care workers that a third-grader with no travel history has been diagnosed. Three more measles cases were confirmed at the elementary school on Saturday, followed by one on Monday and the latest case on Tuesday.age or grade Some of the other patients have not been released.
The county health department issued an advisory Sunday, saying it was “working with all partners, including Broward County Public Schools and local hospitals, to identify contacts who may be at risk of infection.”
It has not been made public whether the infected person has been vaccinated, according to NBC 6 South Florida. The two-dose measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is 97% effective.
John J. Sullivan, communications and legislative director for the Broward County Public Schools District, said in a statement Monday that the school was taking “additional precautions by conducting a deep cleaning of school grounds and replacing air filters” over the weekend. “I took the necessary steps.” ”
Manatee Bay Elementary School contacted the district and NBC News for information about the outbreak.
According to the district, the school continued its normal schedule on Tuesday and learned of the sixth case in the evening.
“We will receive further guidance from the Florida Department of Health tomorrow and will continue to keep schools and families updated,” the school said in a statement.
The Broward County Health Department did not respond to NBC News' questions or requests for comment.
Florida's statewide MMR vaccination rate for the 2022-23 school year was about 91%, compared to the national rate of 93%, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. The U.S. rate has fallen from 95% since the 2020-21 school year. The World Health Organization believes that the threshold required for herd immunity against measles is 95%.
Measles is highly contagious. Symptoms usually begin to appear one to two weeks after infection and include a cough, runny nose, fever, and bloodshot, watery eyes. After a few days, small white spots appear in the mouth, followed by a rash consisting of flat red spots that starts on the face and spreads to the neck, trunk, and extremities.
One in five unvaccinated people in the United States will contract measles and be hospitalized with severe complications. One in every 20 children who contract measles develops pneumonia, making it the leading cause of death for the age group who contracted the disease. Unvaccinated people and people with weakened immune systems also face the risk of brain swelling and death.
As of Thursday, 20 measles cases had already been reported in 11 states this year, including at least eight cases in Philadelphia last month, the CDC said. Last month, the agency issued a warning to health care providers to be on the lookout for more cases. A total of 58 cases were reported last year.
Dr. Charles Mitchell, a professor of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, said the recent measles outbreak could be the result of growing vaccine hesitancy.
“Unfortunately, my suspicion is that there are questions about the usefulness and acceptance of the vaccine,” Mitchell said Tuesday afternoon. “I wouldn't be surprised if these cases start to come back in the future. So the fact that she has five measles cases in this elementary school is a sign that vaccination rates may be declining. It suggests.”
Mitchell emphasized that the MMR vaccine is especially important because there is no treatment or cure for measles.
“I think some people have lost their fear,” Mitchell added. “I think they don't remember what the '60s and '70s were like.”
