TAMPA, Fla. — Measles, one of the most contagious diseases on Earth, has vaulted back into the news after an outbreak in Texas and now, a confirmed case in Miami-Dade County.
“In fact, when you have one person infected, it can transfer, transmit the infection to up to 9 or 10 other people,” said Dr. Christian Brechot, Officer of Medicine at USF and Vice Chair of the Board of the Global Virus Network. “Once you have spread which has been initiated, it’s hard to stop it."
Health officials are keeping a close eye on the outbreak in Texas, where the state health department announced a school-aged child died who was not vaccinated and had no underlying conditions.
“We understand that in this community in Texas, up to 20% of the children didn’t get the vaccine,” said Brechot. “This is only spreading. It started in a community in a small city, but it has been spreading."
The CDCis now helping manage the situation in Texas.
ABC Action News has talked with local health experts for months about the medical concerns associated with the increase in vaccine hesitancy.
“The risk is an increase in these diseases and then the effects are truly felt by the children who develop these illnesses… I also think, memory is short, right? We’ve had fairly high vaccination rates for many years in the country. And so we’ve seen many of these potentially life-threatening diseases go down. So a lot of people have never seen a case of the measles,” said Dr. Christina Canody, BayCare Kids Medical Director.
“Because of the fight over the COVID vaccines, now we’re seeing a decrease in vaccination in young children in the childhood vaccines, which we all grew up with. These are things that have been protecting us for decades: measles, mumps, rubella, these types of polio vaccines,” said Dr. Michael Teng, Virologist and USF Health Associate Professor.
Health officials believe the majority of the children who’ve recently been infected with measles were unvaccinated.
“It is very rare for you actually see a child who received both doses of the vaccine to actually get measles,” said Dr. Frank Esper, Infectious Disease Specialist at Cleveland Clinic Children’s.
The measles vaccine is given as part of the MMR vaccine, which provides protection against measles, mumps, and rubella.
Data show it’s 97% effective.
“We have a very good vaccine,” said Brechot.
According to the CDC, measles symptoms usually begin 7-14 days after infection.
Symptoms include:
- High fiver
- Cough
- Runny nose
- Rash
- White spots inside the mouth
Doctors said most cases are mild but measles can be dangerous for babies and young children.
“Very unfortunately, in about 1 out of 1,000 cases, then it becomes very severe. With some neurological complications and eventually 1 out of 1,000, death,”
With the confirmed case now in Florida, Dr. Berchot said it shows the spread of measles is ongoing, and further emphasizes the need for measles vaccinations.
He understands parents may have legitimate concerns about vaccines.
“I am not advocating for vaccination without asking questions to the medical doctor. I fully understand that a mother or a father of a child can have some concerns from time to time, given the risk of a vaccine. And I think that is absolutely legitimate,” said Brechot.
Part of his work with the Global Virus Network is to provide critical unbiased, non-political advice to parents.
“In the case of measles, I really want to tell to the parents, there have been huge studies worldwide. We have been asking experts from every country on every continent, and they all agree on the fact that the risk of the vaccine is extraordinarily low. Something like 1 out of a million. While the risk of severe measles is about 1 of 1,000. So nothing to compare,” said Brechot.
Experts stress there’s no need to panic. They don’t think we’ll see a widespread outbreak of measles cases at this time.
However, if your child is not vaccinated, you’re encouraged to talk to your doctor.
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