No additional measles cases have been reported at Miami's Palmetto Senior High School after one student was diagnosed with the highly contagious disease, district and state health officials said Thursday.
Authorities said they are continuing to monitor the school for any potential outbreak and are advising parents of children who think may have had contact with the ill student.
“Everything is very stable,” Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Jose L. Dotres told reporters at a news conference. He noted the school had a vaccination rate of 99.7%.
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, speaking in Tampa on Wednesday with Gov. Ron DeSantis, said state health officials were not aware of any other measles cases in Florida and had communicated with the student who contracted the disease.
In a letter sent home to parents of Palmetto High students, state health officials stressed that the state Department of Health is deferring to parents over keeping their kids at home, despite their vaccination status.
"Their preferences and choices for their healthy kids are going to be respected," Lapado said at the press conference.
He did point out the availability of the measles vaccine in South Florida and echoed the advice of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has said taking vitamin A is a treatment option, despite worries from disease experts.
"That's completely a good idea for anyone who is severely ill from measles," he said.
Parents learned of the measles case Tuesday through an email blast and automated voicemail from principal Victoria Dobbs.
"While the risk of transmission may be low for vaccinated individuals, we are taking all necessary precautions while working closely with local health authorities to ensure the health and safety of our school community," Dobbs said in the voicemail.
Fears at home
Ariane Guenther, a senior at the school, said she was shocked and disappointed when she heard about the measles case.
Her dad has multiple sclerosis, a chronic autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system. Even though she and her family are vaccinated against measles, she’s worried about potential exposure.
“It's putting my dad at risk, and it's putting me at risk, and all of my friends and their families at risk as well,” she said. “It's ridiculous.”
Measles — which was declared eliminated by the World Health Organization in 2000 — is rare in the United States. But many fear a widespread resurgence amid an outbreak in rural West Texas that’s infected more than 150 people and killed a child.
Measles cases also have been reported in New Mexico, Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
Last year, a Broward County elementary school had seven confirmed cases.
Gauging contagiousness
The disease is a viral infection passed through respiratory droplets. Symptoms begin with fever, headaches, runny nose, sore throat, cough, and eyes that red and watery — like many other viruses. But measles typically includes a rash.
To gauge how contagious a disease is, physicians may turn to the basic reproductive number, R0, pronounced "R naught," which estimates the number of cases of infectious diseases that can stem from one person.
For measles, the R0 is between 12 and 18, according to the National Library of Medicine. For a virus like the seasonal flu, that number is around 1.28.
“The average (for measles) is probably about 15, but up to 18 people can be infected from one person,” said Dr. Jyoti Somani, associate medical director of infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship for Jackson Health System in Miami.
That’s assuming all 18 people have not received the MMR vaccine, which immunizes against measles, mumps and rubella.
“Amazingly, the measles vaccine is highly effective,” Somani said. “The efficacy from one dose is 93% and two doses is 97%.”
The MMR vaccine is typically administered in two doses. The first at 1 year old and the second between 4 and 6.
“This was eradicated in 2000 in the U.S.,” Somani said. “So it's kind of like we're going back in time, just because people don't want to get the vaccine, which is quite sad.”
Guenther, the Palmetto senior, said she is “feeling the same fear that I did with COVID for sure. … My dad, he's been keeping up with his booster shots and everything. However, you know, things happen.”
Where to get the vaccine
Palmetto High, located in the Pinecrest village of Miami, is coordinating free MMR immunizations Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for unvaccinated students with parental consent.
The Department of Health in Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe and Palm Beach counties administers immunizations, including the MMR vaccine, for free to ages 18 and younger:
- Miami-Daderequires appointments that can be made by calling 786-845-0550.
- In Broward, immunization services are only available at the clinic in the Lauderhill Mall on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
- Monroe clinics are at the Gato Building in Key West and Ruth Ivins Center.
- For appointments in Palm Beach, call 561-625-5180.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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