Health & Fitness

Measles Outbreak: 96 Cases In 2018 In Rockland

A measles outbreak plagued Rockland County all fall and even infected the body politic.

A measles outbreak plagued Rockland County all fall and even infected the body politic. There have been 96 confirmed cases in the county, and health officials are monitoring eight more suspected cases.

The last confirmed case was reported Dec. 19, which puts the county 13 days into its 21-day countdown for lifting restrictions on schools.

There are bad measles outbreaks across the world. The disease came to Rockland with a visitor from Israel who was infected and with Rockland residents who returned from a trip to Israel The first case of an international traveler with measles was in late September, and more cases at the start were due to separate international travelers, three from Rockland and one from abroad in early October.

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Because measles is highly contagious — the virus is airborne and can live two hours after an infected person has left the area — the way to prevent measles is vaccination and isolation.

County health officials immediately began offering free vaccine clinics in partnership with community health centers. They asked anyone who might be infected to call the doctor before going in for a check-up. They placed restrictions on schools in the geographic center of the outbreak: Monsey, Spring Valley and New Square. Un- or under-vaccinated students may not attend any schools where the vaccination rate is lower than 80 percent until 21 days after the last confirmed case in the county.

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As it worsened, they recommended that children as young as six months start the vaccination process.

They also warned that people born before 1957, who have always been considered immune, could get at least a mild case of measles if exposed in this outbreak.

"We consider all of Rockland essentially exposed," Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert, Commissioner of the Rockland County Department of Health, said at the beginning of November.

The health crisis stirred up more trouble in the uneasy relationship in Rockland between some local Hasidic communities and their neighbors.

Most of the measles cases involved ultra-Orthodox yeshivas. But after one case was reported at one public school, and an infected person visited a big mall during the height of the holiday shopping season, Rockland County officials had to take down a Facebook post about measles because of anti-Semitic commentary.

Then, when the county Board of Health met to fine nine yeshivas that had not complied with the orders to keep un- or under-vaccinated students home and provide health officials with updated vaccination records, a lawmaker accused the county executive of attacking the Jewish schools for political gain; the latter counter-punched by asserting that the former hadn't bothered to reach out to his community about the outbreak.

Asked about religious exemptions, Dr. Ruppert said, "I've met with the rabbis. I have asked them directly if there's a religious reason why people should not be vaccinated and the answer is 'no.'"

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Measles is not just a rash. Symptoms of measles can also include high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. It can cause serious complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis. Measles infection in a pregnant woman can lead to miscarriage, premature birth or a low-birth-weight or deaf baby. Young children are the most likely to die from measles.

The way to avoid getting measles is to be immunized.

Image via Shutterstock


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