Expert: One case is too many as measles reported in Worcester County

A local infectious disease specialist said the single case of measles reported in Worcester County on Thursday is an alarming development.

The case reported by the state Department of Public Health is the first confirmed case of measles in Massachusetts in more than four years.

An adult in Worcester County who had traveled internationally contracted the highly contagious virus in early July, said the state's press release.

“One case is an alarm for public health,” said Dr. Mireya Wessolossky, an infectious disease specialist at UMass Memorial Medical Center, who added that one infected person can infect up to 10 others.

That statistic comes from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as measles becomes airborne from a cough or sneeze and can linger in a room for up to two hours.

Worcester's Department of Public Health is monitoring possible cases of measles in tandem with the state. Vaccination is the best protection against measles, according to the city's health department.

Children younger than 5 are particularly susceptible to measles, said Wessolossky. Numbers from the CDC show that to be the case. Of the 167 measles cases reported so far this year in the U.S. through July 11, nearly half (46%) fell in the 5 and younger category.

Children face increased risk of severe pneumonia or a swelling of the brain (encephalitis) after contracting measles.

Get the vaccine

The best protection against the virus, said Wessolossky, is to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. Those not vaccinated, or unsure of it, accounted for 84% of the 167 cases nationally so far this year, said the CDC.

The unvaccinated are taking a risk when traveling to countries where vaccination rates against measles are low, said Wesselossky, because the chance of contracting measles increases.

In Thursday’s announcement from the state Department of Public Health, it was mentioned that large measles outbreaks are occurring in Europe and elsewhere internationally. Many of the cases reported in the United States are associated with recent travel, said the release.

Numbers going up

Measles numbers are on the rise in the U.S.: 167 cases so this year compared to 58 in 2023 and 121 in 2022. This year, cases are reported in at least 25 states, including up to nine cases each in New Hampshire and Vermont. Illinois tops the list with up to 99.

Outbreaks, defined as three or more related cases, are also climbing. There were four outbreaks in the U.S. last year, compared to 13 so far this year.

Eliminated, but still here

The U.S. declared measles eliminated in 2000. However, cases crop up yearly, primarily from unvaccinated travelers returning from overseas.

Another contributor could be lower vaccination rates among kindergartners nationally. There have been 250,000 kindergartners unvaccinated yearly for the past three years, said the CDC. Vaccination rates fell from 95.2% to 93.1% when comparing the 2019-20 and 2022-23 school years.

The vaccination rate for Massachusetts kindergartners is higher: 96.5% in the 2022-23 academic year.

“It’s not a nice disease for a child,” said Wesselossky. She attended medical school and residency in Venezuela and treated children with measles. She remembered one intubated child with a severe case of pneumonia who died.

“That’s never out of my memory,” she said.

Measles symptoms

Measles symptoms include high fever, cough, severe runny nose (coryza), conjunctivitis and rash. Symptoms can appear seven to 14 days after infection.

Thursday’s release from the state urged anyone unsure if they're vaccinated to contact their doctor to get at least one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.

UMass Memorial Health sent an alert to all front-line workers in pediatrics, primary care and emergency medicine to be watchful for patients with measles symptoms, said Wessolossky.

Her message to everyone is simple: “Get vaccinated.”

Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com . Follow him on X: @henrytelegram .

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Expert: One case is too many as measles reported in Worcester County