Florida becomes the new epicenter of measles outbreak: Child under 5 is latest to be infected by ultra-contagious ‘heat-seeking missile’ disease – as 35 cases are reported across 15 states
Florida has become the center of a measles outbreak, with a seventh case of the virus confirmed on Saturday.
This concerns a child under the age of five, the youngest child infected so far during the outbreak.
It is also the first case identified outside Manatee Bay Elementary School in Weston, near Fort Lauderdale, where the infection is known to have spread.
It comes as the decision by Florida’s Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo to let parents decide whether to quarantine their children or continue attending school has come under increased scrutiny.
Florida currently has the largest outbreak in the US – with 35 cases in 15 states in 2024 alone.
Cases “will not be limited to just that one school, not when a virus is so contagious,” said Dr. David Kimberlin, co-director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Florida’s Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Ladapo (pictured), who lets parents decide whether to quarantine their children or send them to school, has come under increased scrutiny
Cold symptoms, such as fever, coughing, and a runny or stuffy nose, are usually the first sign of measles
“Measles is the most contagious human pathogen known,” Kimberlin explained.
“It’s like a heat-seeking missile. It will find the people who are not immune, and they will get sick.”
On Friday, Michigan recorded its first case of measles since 2019.
Pennsylvania recorded nine cases of measles in January, eight of which were in Philadelphia.
However, if no new cases are reported by early next week, the outbreak will be declared over.
Unvaccinated people have a 90 percent chance of becoming infected if exposed, a problem that is becoming increasingly important as uptake of vaccines like the MMR decreases.
Coverage of MMR vaccines across America is below the safe target for the third year in a row.
According to the CDC, coverage dropped by another two percent between the 2019-2021 school year and the 2022-2023 school year, meaning about a quarter of a million preschoolers in the U.S. are at risk of measles infection.
Measles is a highly contagious, airborne virus that mainly affects children under the age of five
The above shows measles cases in the United States year after year
The 93.1 percent rate during the 2022-2023 school year is lower than the 95 percent rate in the 2019-2020 school year, leaving measles coverage below the national goal of 95 percent for the third year in a row.
About 33 of Manatee Bay Elementary School’s 1,067 students have not received either of the two doses of the MMR vaccine, Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Peter Licata said Wednesday.
Doctors were first notified of a case of measles on Friday, February 16 – a third-grader with no travel history.
Dr. John Brownstein, epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, told ABC News: ‘The lack of travel history in the measles cases suggests we are likely seeing local transmission, underscoring the serious risk to the community.
‘Measles is highly contagious and due to the long incubation period of eleven to twelve days, there is a good chance that more children will become infected without showing any symptoms.
“This situation is alarming and requires immediate public health intervention to prevent further spread.”
Measles is a highly contagious, airborne virus that mainly affects children under the age of five.
According to the WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the disease can be prevented by two doses of the MMR vaccine. Since 2000, more than 57 million deaths have been prevented.
The recommended two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97 percent effective against measles, the CDC reports.
One dose is 93 percent effective.
But measles vaccination rates have fallen and more and more young children are going to schools unvaccinated.
Millions may have missed vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic, as health care systems became overwhelmed and fell behind on routine vaccinations for preventable diseases.
If an unvaccinated child is exposed to measles, an MMR injection should be given as soon as possible.
If given within 72 hours of first exposure, the injection may provide some protection against measles or reduce the severity of the disease.