Measles on the East Coast: New York City Confirms Outbreak

The first measles outbreak on the East Coast has been reported in New York City, according to a public health warning released by the New York City Health Department today.

Approximately 16 cases of measles have been identified in northern Manhattan and the Bronx, New York health officials are reporting. To date, there have been four hospitalizations as a result of the outbreak, but officials assure New York residents that every effort is being taken to ensure that the virus does not spread in emergency medical environments, where unvaccinated patients are the most vulnerable.

This makes New York the third East Coast state to be exposed to measles this year. Both Massachusetts and Rhode Island have also seen measles exposure but in isolated cases that have not resulted in any additional infections, according to their respective state health department reports. This most recent case in New York however, has been classified as an outbreak, meaning that the virus came from one or several sources and spread to other people, resulting in a significant number of additional cases.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), even though measles is extremely contagious, outbreaks are remarkably rare in the United States because the majority of the population has been immunized from the disease. Still, growing doubts in the measles vaccination among some parents has caused what the CDC calls an "alarming" number of children to not receive immunization. These doubts spring from a theory that the MMR vaccine can cause autism in children. There has not been any significant scientific evidence to date backing this claim.

Measles is most dangerous to young children and pregnant mothers and is best known to cause a vividly red body-covering rash and dangerous fevers. These symptoms, alongside many cold-like symptoms generally last a little under a week.

To date, the New York City Health Department has identified the measles infections in nine children and seven adults. Some of these adults say they had thought they had been immunized in the past, but lack documentation. The CDC urges adults and parents of children who have yet to vaccinated to pursue the option right away.

The public health warning was published on March 7 by the New York City Health Department.