Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Oswego, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne, Yates, Rockland, Nassau, Herkimer, Montgomery, Ostego, Essex, Lewis, Chemung, Chenango, Steuben, Tioga, Allegany, Chautauqua, and Erie.
If you’re thinking: that’s a long list of counties in New York, you’re right. That’s 22 of New York’s 62 counties. And this year alone, they’ve all had measles cases.
This week on the Disabilities Beat, we speak with experts on what measles is, why cases are rising in New York, the risks, and what the state is doing.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript produced by a contractor and may be updated over time to be more accurate.
Emyle Watkins:
Hi, I'm Emyle Watkins, and this is the Disabilities Beat. There are 62 counties in New York State. 22 of them have had recorded measles cases this year alone. Erie and Chautauqua counties are among them.
Dr. John Sellick:
I get the text message that we think we might have another measles, then I'm concerned that did this get missed along the way and are we going to start seeing secondary cases?
Emyle Watkins:
That's Dr. John Sellick, Kaleida Health's hospital epidemiologist. He says most people have never seen measles firsthand. The last cases he saw personally were when he and his brother caught it as children in the 1960s.
Dr. John Sellick:
There were none of the vaccines available when I was a kid. I still remember having measles and I still remember having mumps.
Emyle Watkins:
There have been over a hundred cases of measles in New York so far this year. That may seem like a small number, but measles is 12 times more contagious than the flu, making the risk high enough that Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency last week.
Dr. John Sellick:
Measles is highly contagious. It's one of the most contagious infectious diseases that we have in humans.
Emyle Watkins:
Sellick and two other infectious disease experts BTPM interviewed say most people don't know measles doesn't start with the notorious rash.
Dr. John Sellick:
They get in through our respiratory tract, but the reason you have rash is because the virus is spreading throughout your body.
Emyle Watkins:
At Erie County Medical Center, senior vice president of nursing, Charlene Ludlow, has more than 30 years of experience in infection control. She says measles starts like many other respiratory illnesses.
Charlene Ludlow:
They got a high fever, they've got respiratory symptoms, but then three or four days later, here comes the rash that says, "Uh-oh, this isn't the flu. This isn't something else. This is measles." By that point, now you've got people exposed.
Emyle Watkins:
Symptoms typically start one to two weeks after you're exposed to measles, beginning with a high fever, cough, runny nose, and red watery eyes. Some people will have white spots in their mouth two to three days later. The rash comes three to five days after the initial symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Charlene Ludlow:
I still think the most important part of the fall is those people with fevers staying home.
Emyle Watkins:
There is no treatment for measles. One in five unvaccinated people who get measles are hospitalized, and one in 20 children with measles develop pneumonia. Measles can also cause encephalitis or brain swelling, lifelong disabilities or death.
Charlene Ludlow:
It can be death, it can be encephalitis, it can be things that will change life forever for people. And the level of contagiousness of this disease is so high.
Emyle Watkins:
The reason we haven't seen measles in so long is because of the highly effective and safe vaccine.
Charlene Ludlow:
The state of Pennsylvania, they've had about 975 cases already, and they've had five children die. I mean, that's a huge number in my mind. I mean, any child obviously, but this is vaccine preventable. And the majority of the cases they're seeing of this disease is happening in the unvaccinated population.
Emyle Watkins:
Only three in every 100 people who get the vaccine experience a breakthrough case of measles after exposure, and that's usually in people who are immunocompromised or who have prolonged exposure to someone with measles. And even in these cases, vaccination makes the illness more mild.
Dr. John Sellick:
With the current MMR vaccine, we have now pretty close to a half a century, 50 years worth, actually more than that for some of them, of good solid data that shows that these are safe. There have been literally dozens of studies and re-analysis of studies showing that there's no link between vaccination and autism, especially measles vaccine and autism.
Emyle Watkins:
Local state of emergency allows paramedics, pharmacists, midwives, and other medical professionals to administer the vaccine, and nurses can now order measles tests. Experts we spoke to say these changes could help reach rural and insular communities with low vaccination.
Dr. John Sellick:
Many of the outbreaks that we see, for instance, are in rural remote populations, especially Amish where there's aversion to traditional medicine.
Emyle Watkins:
Dr. Sellick says the risks are higher now than the last time measles was prevalent. Modern medicine allows people to live longer and healthier, but we also have a larger high risk population.
Dr. John Sellick:
So now you have these very large populations of people who are very susceptible because of cancer, treatment of cancer, treatment of other diseases. So this is why it's so important to maintain those very high levels of immunity.
Emyle Watkins:
Next week on the Disabilities Beat, we will tackle understanding your risk and what to do if you're feeling anxious about measles or are unsure of the vaccine. I'm Emyle Watkins. Thanks for listening.
