Add One: Rockland Measles Outbreak Widens

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — As of Friday, there are 77 confirmed cases of measles in Rockland County plus seven suspected cases that the Rockland County Department of Health is keeping an eye on. That's one more in two days.

The measles outbreaks in New York and New Jersey continue to grow. New Jersey state officials even closed their motor vehicle department office in Toms River because employees and possibly clients were exposed to someone with measles.

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In Brooklyn, Lakewood and Rockland, the measles were brought in by locals traveling abroad or by international visitors. In all three, the outbreak is concentrated in Orthodox Jewish communities.

For New York, this is the biggest outbreak in decades. In 1991, 2,306 cases of measles were confirmed in New York State.

The vaccines for children program began in 1994, said Kate Fowlie at the Centers for Disease Control.

Vaccination is the way to prevent measles. In 2016, the overall national coverage for MMR vaccine among children aged 19—35 months was 91.1 percent. However, she said, at the county or lower levels, vaccine coverage rates may vary considerably.

Highly contagious, the disease can be dangerous, especially for babies and young children, as it can lead to pneumonia, brain damage, deafness and death.

Given the size of the outbreak in Rockland, county health officials say even those born before 1957 and those who have been fully vaccinated are at risk.

It can also be an expensive public health problem. The 2013 measles outbreak that hit Orthodox Jewish communities in Williamsburg and Borough Park, begun by a resident who had visited London, cost the city almost $400,000 to contain, a recent study found.

PHOTO/ Centers for Disease Control