Reports of Measles cases that emerged in multiple states this year have been traced back to visits to Florida, as confirmed by federal and state investigators. This revelation sheds light on the origin of some of the initial infections that have contributed to the recent surge of the highly contagious virus.
Florida's health department suspects that families of the individuals affected earlier this year from Indiana and Louisiana may have intersected in the state. This information was gathered from communications exchanged between local investigators and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention up until late February.
Earlier, Louisiana had stated that its first two cases of measles this year in the New Orleans region were linked to travel to another state, without specifying which state.
Another case of measles emerged in Ohio this year after a visit to Florida. However, this particular infection was not directly connected to the previously mentioned cases.
"As mentioned, we've had an Ohio case that visited [redacted] Florida as well as a case of our own in the region so definitely curious if there is a connection," mentioned Megan Gumke, an epidemiologist for the Florida Department of Health, in a February 21 email.
The correspondence was acquired by CBS News through a Freedom of Information Act request.
It is uncertain whether the current measles cases are related to those previously treated by local emergency rooms, as reported by the Orlando Sentinel last month, involving an adult and three young children.
A representative for the Orlando Health system chose not to comment and referred inquiries to Florida's health department. There has been no immediate response from a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Health.
This comes at a time when health authorities are intensifying their call for unvaccinated individuals in the U.S. to get vaccinated before traveling internationally to guard against measles. The country recently reached a concerning milestone in the ongoing measles outbreak, with more cases in the first three months of 2024 than in the entirety of 2023.
According to the CDC, as of March 18, 93% of reported measles infections this year have been linked to travel outside the U.S. The agency also stated on March 13 that unvaccinated Americans should consider getting vaccinated as early as six weeks before international travel, for travelers aged six months and older.
There is currently no specific vaccination recommendation for travelers within the U.S. to states experiencing measles outbreaks.
The CDC continues to have longstanding recommendations for everyone starting at 12 months old to get vaccinated against measles. The MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella, has been widely used for decades and is safe and effective against the once-common illness.
Officials say the recent uptick in cases underscores the need to catch up on routine shots that were missed during the pandemic. But they also think it so far remains "nowhere close to" the kind of ongoing outbreaks that authorities feared could threaten the U.S. status of having eliminated the virus.
Vaccination rates in the U.S. will likely be enough to prevent a repeat of the deadly waves of infections that claimed hundreds of lives and hospitalized thousands of children every year before the vaccine. The measles virus was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, meaning the country was no longer seeing sustained outbreaks.
However, the agency has also warned that growing outbreaks abroad and gaps of immunity within the U.S. left some communities vulnerable to measles spread.
"Given currently high population immunity against measles in most U.S. communities, the risk of widescale spread is low. However, pockets of low coverage leave some communities at higher risk for outbreaks," the CDC said.
The outbreak of measles at an elementary school in Florida's Broward County was traced back to a child who had not received the vaccine due to a religious exemption. This initial case was soon followed by other suspected cases of measles in unvaccinated students at the same school.
The cluster of cases began with a 9-year-old who had not traveled internationally. A total of nine cases were reported in Broward County, Florida before health officials declared the outbreak to be over.
