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As of Friday, there are 96 confirmed cases of measles, with no pending suspected cases, said the Rockland County Department of Health.
There are also 12 confirmed cases of whooping cough with no new cases pending, they added.
Whooping cough is a highly contagious infection of the upper respiratory tract caused by a virus that is spread by direct contact with mucus from the nose and throat of an infected person.
At first, the illness looks like the common head cold with low fever, runny nose, sneezing, but with a cough that increases in severity. Within one to two weeks, the cough worsens and is described as "coughing fits." The coughing can be so intense that individuals may gag and vomit at the end of these coughing fits.
The most effective way to prevent whooping cough is to receive pertussis-containing vaccinations such as DTaP – diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis for small children, or Tdap – tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis for adolescents and adults. This is different from MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine.
The same goes for the measles, which can also be prevented with a vaccine. To date, the county and its partners have given more than 11,000 vaccines.
Measles symptoms include a fever, rash, cough, conjunctivitis (red watery eyes) or a runny nose. People are considered infectious from four days before to four days after the appearance of the rash. Symptoms usually appear 10-12 days after exposure but may appear as early as seven days and as late as 21 days after exposure.
The outbreak began with visitors to and from Israel in September. Since then the number continues to grow as unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children and adults are exposed, the department said.
The majority of the cases has mainly affected the Orthodox Jewish community in New Square, Spring Valley, and Monsey, health officials said.
For questions regarding measles, call the New York State Department of Health toll-free at 888-364-4837.
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