Another Traveler Brings More Measles To Rockland

NEW CITY, NY — An international traveler with measles who visited Rockland County in September means that once again people have been exposed. Rockland County Executive Ed Day and County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert said this case was not related to the 11-month outbreak that was just declared over.

Federal health officials are watching Rockland closely because if any connected measles cases surface at the beginning of October, that would mean that measles has not been eradicated in the United States but is again endemic.

Rockland health officials advise residents that the person confirmed to have measles visited Congregation Khal Torath Viznitz in Monsey, potentially exposing others to measles from Sept. 20 - 21.

Anyone who visited Congregation Khal Torath Viznitz at 25 Phyllis Terrace in Monsey during these times may have been exposed to measles:

• Friday, Sept. 20, from 9-10 p.m., with a risk of exposure until 12 a.m.
• Saturday, Sept. 21, from noon to 1 p.m., with a risk of exposure until 3 p.m.

"We continue to urge residents to check their immunization status and get vaccinated if they are unimmunized. By avoiding having pockets of susceptible individuals, we can prevent the measles from spreading further within our County," Ruppert said. "The MMR vaccination remains the only safe and effective way to prevent the measles."

Measles is one of the most contagious viruses on earth; 90 percent of unvaccinated people exposed to the virus become infected. You can catch measles just by being in a room where a person with measles has been, up to 2 hours after that person is gone. You can catch measles from an infected person even before they have a measles rash.

Symptoms include a fever, rash, cough, conjunctivitis or runny nose. Symptoms usually appear 10-12 days after exposure but may appear as early as 7 days and as late as 21 days after exposure.

Cases in the county have been concentrated in the Hasidic community, which has low immunization rates. However, due to Rockland's small geographic size, exposure to the measles may occur anywhere in the county.

"To be clear, this new case and exposure are not connected to our previous measles outbreak which ended last month," Day said. "As the disease continues to spread around the world, it is not surprising to see yet another imported case here in Rockland. Utilizing the strategies developed during our outbreak the Department of Health will continue to investigate this case and monitor anyone who may have been exposed to the measles."

Individuals are considered protected or immune to measles if they were born before 1957, have received two doses of measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine, have had physician or provider-confirmed measles, or have a lab test confirming immunity. Individuals who are not immune to measles and were exposed are at risk for developing measles.

If you were at this location during these dates, especially if you are in any of the following high-risk groups, contact your health care provider by phone right away (call before going for care):

• Pregnant
• A child under 6 months of age
• Immunocompromised or immunosuppressed (when your body can't fight disease)
• Have not been vaccinated against the measles
• Were born before 1957 and are immunosuppressed

Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccines are available for residents by calling the Rockland County Department of Health at 845-364-2497 or 845-364-2520. In addition, MMR vaccines are available at local health care providers or by calling a local federally qualified health center, such as Refuah or Hudson River Health Care.

We need your help to contain the spread of measles. If you are ill with a fever, rash, or conjunctivitis (red watery eyes) – help protect our community by staying home, not having visitors, and not going out in public. To further prevent the spread of illness, the Department is advising individuals who have symptoms consistent with measles to contact their health care provider, a local clinic, or a local emergency department before going for care. This will help to prevent others at these facilities from being exposed to the illness.

Residents can get more information about measles by visiting https://bit.ly/2zh4v1G and by calling the New York State Department of Health toll free Measles Information Line at (888) 364-4837.

This has been the worst year for measles across the United States since 1992, according to the Centers for Disease Control. As of Sept. 26, 2019, the CDC reported 1,243 cases of measles confirmed in 31 states.

• More than 75% of the cases this year are linked to outbreaks in New York.
• Measles is more likely to spread and cause outbreaks in U.S. communities where groups of people are unvaccinated.
• The majority of cases are among people who were not vaccinated against measles.
• Measles can cause serious complications. As of Sept. 26, 2019, 131 of the people who got measles this year were hospitalized, and 65 reported having complications, including pneumonia and encephalitis.
• These outbreaks are linked to travelers who brought measles back from other countries such as Israel, Ukraine, and the Philippines, where large measles outbreaks are occurring.

The longest running outbreak in the U.S. was in Rockland County (which started in October 2018). It was declared over as the date of completion of two maximum incubation periods (42 days) without cases approached Sept. 30.

SEE:

• Rockland Declares Measles Outbreak Over
• Measles Case In Putnam County, More Exposure Possible