WXXI News | By Beth Adams
Four upstate New York counties have reported measles cases over the past week.
This news comes a few weeks before school begins, and at a time when more parents are opting their children out of vaccinations.
On Tuesday, Steuben County confirmed one case of measles. Another case was confirmed in Seneca County on Aug. 14. As of Aug. 14, Madison County had one confirmed case in an unvaccinated resident. And Allegany County confirmed Wednesday that three individuals were infected with the virus and 14 others were presumed to be infected.
The Allegany County health department said they identified a potential common exposure among individuals who attended horse auctions and traveled through Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Erie County reported two measles cases in early June.
Measles is a highly contagious virus that can cause severe illness or death.
“If a person who is not immune — that is, they’ve never had measles and they’ve never been vaccinated — if they come in contact with someone who has measles in the same room, there is a 90% chance or higher that they will get measles,” said Dr. Paul Graman, an epidemiologist at Strong Memorial Hospital.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared measles eliminated in the United States in 2000, but dropping vaccination rates are now threatening that status.
According to Graman, public health has become the victim of its own success. He said because the measles virus had all but disappeared for decades, some people question the need to get vaccinated.
“Having the attitude that, ‘I’m protected or not protected’ or ‘I don’t care,’ or ‘I’ve never seen measles,’ how are you going to feel if you get measles, and then someone in your school who can’t be vaccinated, a child, gets a serious case of measles, and it could have been prevented?” he asked.
New CDC data show over 4% of parents opted their children out of routine vaccinations for nonmedical reasons before they entered kindergarten last year. That exemption rate is an all-time high.
Image: A child’s cheek shows the characteristic rash associated with measles. (CDC)