The Connecticut Department of Public Health announced on Oct. 25 that a fourth case of measles has been identified in Fairfield County. The report stated that the infected person was a school-aged boy. The child was infected in early October, but was not contagious while in school.
“I feel a sense of uneasiness knowing that measles are in my surrounding area,” Sammi Chauvin, a Fairfield University senior nursing student, said. “I am up to date on all my vaccinations so I personally don’t fear getting measles. However, my concern lies with those who are not vaccinated.”
While the state health department confirmed that the child was not infected with the disease while in school, a process and investigation must be done, according Renee D. Coleman Mitchell, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health. Public health workers have to explore every possible encounter the person with measles might have had, in an attempt get ahead of another diagnosis.
Measles presents as a red, blotchy skin rash. Other symptoms are fevers, sore throat, cough, runny nose and inflamed eyes. The symptoms show up typically 10 to 14 days after exposure. (Credit: Centers for Disease Control.)
“If a cohort of students has a low vaccination rate, they may be susceptible to an outbreak,” said Dr. Brett Lindenbach, an associate professor of microbial biology at Yale. “Vaccination is like an investment, a type of insurance. It is also the right thing to do. Some children may be unable to accept the vaccine for medical or other reasons. They rely on herd immunity.”
Connecticut legislature is working to pass a law that will make vaccinations mandatory for all children entering the school system. Those with medical exemptions will not be affected if the law passes.
The Fairfield measles case is the only one in that county. The other three diagnoses have been in New Haven county, starting in January, with the two other cases in February and April.
“Four reported cases of measles doesn’t sound like a massive burden on health care,” Lindenbach said. “This is because Connecticut has relatively high vaccination rates. If that rate gets too low, outbreaks will occur. This happened throughout New York Orthodox communities. Also, bear in mind that measles kills less than 100,000 people a year, mostly in developing countries, where measles vaccination rates can get low.”
According to the CDC, measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world. The term “measle” is derived from an old German and Dutch word for a spot or pustule on the skin. It is an airborne virus that can cause lack of hearing, vision and brain damage. Those who are not vaccinated are a threat to not only themselves, but those around them.
“The time to get vaccinated for measles is before entering school, as the airborne virus spreads easily in large or small groups of people,” Lindenbach said.
Although the United States combated the first measles outbreak in 1912 and was declared as a “measles free” country, the measles has made a comeback in 31 states since 2019.
“It’s hard for me, as an advocate of health care, to see something that is so preventable resurface in our surrounding communities,” Chauvin said. “All nurses and health care providers in general believe in the importance of vaccinations for preventing diseases like measles. It seems almost selfish that parents are willing to put their children and other individuals at risk for something that has a preventative treatment.”