In the past two weeks, Erie County announced two cases of measles in the community, after going eight years without a single case.
However, the second case presents the greatest concern, as the child's family did not report traveling outside Erie County. The county hasn't been able to connect the second child to the first case or any other sick person. This means there is probably at least one other case that has gone unreported, according to the county health commissioner.
"This child was not vaccinated. The child had no travel history," said Dr. Gale Burstein, Erie County's Health Commissioner. "We had [found] no known contact that anybody was sick, and especially anybody that had any symptoms of measles."
"There's probably somebody else in Erie County, at least one other person, that has measles that has not been tested, and so we're unaware of them," she added.
Dr. Burstein is advising that Erie County residents find out if they are vaccinated, and if not, get vaccinated. She is also stressing that if you believe you may have measles to call ahead before seeking healthcare.
UNICEF puts it simply: “For hundreds of years, measles has been one of the most contagious and lethal viruses known to humans.” One of the most illustrative statistics is that if just one infected person is exposed to 10 people without immunity, nine of them will develop measles.
"Measles is not just a rash, it's a very, very serious respiratory illness that spreads through the air when a person with measles cough or talks or sneezes," Dr. Burstein said.
Particularly in unvaccinated people, measles can lead to severe illness, disabilities or death.
However, the challenge with measles is people are contagious four days before the signature rash appears.
Between one to three weeks after exposure to the virus, an infected person often develops flu-like symptoms, a very high fever and/or pink eye. White spots appear in the mouth one to three days later. The rash people associate with measles doesn’t appear until three to five days after symptoms begin.
“If you imagine what it would look like if you like broke a raw egg on the top of your head and that it dripped down your body," Dr. Burstein said. "That's the usual progression of the rash of measles”
Measles is 12 times more contagious than the flu, twice as contagious as COVID, and six times more contagious than Ebola. Measles can live in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours after a person passes through a room.
In Erie County's first case, which was lab confirmed on June 3, the child and their family had recently traveled to a country where measles is endemic, or more common.
“Their unvaccinated child developed measles. You know, fortunately, the rest of the family was up to date with vaccine, and nobody else got sick," Dr. Burstein said.
While sick, the child visited two local health centers multiple times, potentially exposing people. The child in the second case of measles, confirmed on June 9, also visited those two health centers on different dates. If you visited those centers at the same time or dates, you should monitor for symptoms.
Dr. Burstein urges the public to not go directly to a doctor or emergency room if they are experiencing any symptoms of measles, and rather, call ahead so the doctor's office, health center or emergency room can take precautions and reduce the spread.
“There are actions that we can take if somebody has measles to put them in a space where they won't infect anybody else," Dr. Burstein said, emphasizing this can protect children who are too young to be vaccinated as well as people with compromised immune systems who are unable to get the vaccination because it's a live vaccine.
The MMR, or Measles, Mumps, Rubella vaccine, is available at pharmacies and doctors offices. If you do not have insurance, the county health department offers free vaccination. Vaccination can even help reduce risk if administered within a short time period after exposure to the virus.
