Two Pregnant Women Infected In BK Measles Outbreak, City Says

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — The number of cases in a measles outbreak in Brooklyn continues to climb despite school closures and fines for those that refuse to get vaccinated, health officials said Wednesday.

The outbreak, which has plagued Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish community since October, has now reached 390 people, including two pregnant women. Those numbers are up more than 60 from just last week, when 329 people were infected, and more than 100 from earlier this month when Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a public health emergency for the outbreak.

The two expectant mothers who have now contracted the disease are among those the city has warned are especially vulnerable to the disease, which can cause miscarriage or mean the baby can be born with measles, as they have urged New Yorker's to get vaccinated.

"These cases are stark reminders of why New Yorkers must get vaccinated against the measles as soon as possible," Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot said. "When we do not get vaccinated, we put our friends, our relatives, our neighbors, our classmates and other fellow New Yorkers at risk."

The department also announced that it has now issued civil summonses to 12 people for not complying with the public health declaration, which required anyone who has not been vaccinated in certain zip codes to do so within 48 hours or face a $1,000 fine.

That number is also up from last week, when the department said parents of three unvaccinated children had been given the summons. Those that have been issued a summons will be entitled to a hearing first, but will need to pay the $1,000 if the hearing officer upholds the summons, officials said. They could also be fined $2,000 if they do not show up at the hearing or respond to the summons, department officials said.

Health officials have also closed four schools in Brooklyn for not following their orders to not let unvaccinated children return to school. 24 other childcare facilities were given violations.

The outbreak is still mostly contained to the zip codes that have been under the emergency order, health officials said. 83 percent, or 323, of the 390 cases have been in Williamsburg.

All but one of the cases outside of the neighborhood, though, were in people who were exposed to the disease in Williamsburg or Borough Park.

Seven cases in people outside of these Orthodox Jewish communities have not resulted in sustained transmission of the disease because of "herd immunity" that occurs in areas with higher vaccination rates, Deputy Commissioner Dr. Demetre Daskalakis said.

“There’s no reason why a healthy child or adult should not be vaccinated against measles," Daskalakis said. "We need to make sure that everyone who can get vaccinated, who doesn’t know their immunity status or vaccination history, gets the vaccine to protect themselves and those around them that can’t.”

The health department issued a Health Alert on Wednesday that will include giving outbreak-related guidance to healthcare providers city-wide, officials said. This is the fourth Health Alert issued since the outbreak started.

Officials also specifically alerted obstetricians and gynecologists to recommend that pregnant women be screened for measles immunity.

The department is also in its sixth round of robocalls, which reach about 30,000 people, as part of its outreach efforts.

So far, nobody in Brooklyn has died from the disease, but 25 have been hospitalized and six were sent to the intensive care unit, the health department said.

The measles outbreak has also spread in Rockland County, where officials declared a state of emergency last month, and other places across the country. It has been linked to trips to Israel, which is currently suffering from a large outbreak, as well as the U.K. and the Ukraine.