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6th child from same Florida school gets measles in outbreak that started Friday [1]

['Carla Sinclair']

Date: 2024-02-20  

Six children from the same Florida elementary school have contracted measles in an outbreak that began last week.

The first child to come down with symptoms was a 3rd grader on Friday, who had not traveled recently, followed by three other students who had confirmed cases over the weekend. The 5th and 6th cases showed up yesterday and today. The infected children are all students at Manatee Bay Elementary School in Weston, about 20 miles west of Ft. Lauderdale.

"It is very likely that this outbreak is among unvaccinated students, given that nearly 90% of measles cases in past outbreaks were among those not vaccinated," said epidemiologist and ABC News contributor Dr. John Brownstein, although whether or not these students were vaccinated has not been confirmed. "This pattern aligns with historical data showing that measles primarily spreads among unvaccinated populations."

From ABC News:

"Over the weekend, the District took further preventive measures by conducting a deep cleaning of the school premises and replacing its air filters," the [Broward County Public Schools] statement continued. … Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, meaning the disease "is no longer constantly present in this country." The dip in routine childhood vaccinations in recent years — as well as travelers bringing measles into the country — has resulted in outbreaks. … The first measles vaccine, a single-dose vaccine, was introduced in the U.S. in 1963. In the prior decade, there were 3 to 4 million cases annually, which led to 48,000 hospitalizations and 400 to 500 deaths. The overwhelming majority of cases in outbreaks are typically the unvaccinated. Nearly 90% of the 1,249 measles cases in 2019, which was the greatest number of cases reported since 1992, were people who were unvaccinated.

And from NBC News:

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