Dept. of Health Issues Measles Health Advisory in Broward County

Four elementary school students were confirmed to have transmitted the virus by Sunday.

 By Jesse Scheckner

Florida health officials are issuing a measles health advisory in Broward County after the Broward School District confirmed multiple cases of the virus at a Weston elementary school.

Florida Department of Health Broward (DOH-Broward) announced on Sunday that it is investigating the cases, which occurred at Manatee Bay Elementary School late last week.

There are four confirmed cases so far, according to NBC 6.

“DOH-Broward is continuously working with all partners, including Broward County Public Schools and local hospitals, to identify contacts that are at risk of transmission,” the DOH-Broward alert said. “Health care providers in the area have been notified.”

The most prominent symptom of measles is a rash that commonly spreads on the face and neck and can spread to other parts of the body. Other symptoms include high fever, runny nose, cough, eye agitation and tiny, white Koplik spots inside the mouth.

DOH-Broward is asking residents who suspect or notice symptoms to contact their health care provider to seek medical attention and avoid exposing anyone else.

The (limited) spread of measles in Florida’s second-most populous county suggests parents either lied about immunizing their children or forwent the safeguard before enrolling them in public school.

Each child enrolled in a public school must provide a Florida Certification of Immunization documenting their vaccinations, including the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, which is extremely effective at preventing the disease.

However, Florida allows exemptions for religious and medical reasons.

In the U.S. in 2022, there were 121 cases of measles reported by six jurisdictions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That figure fell steeply last year to 58 cases across 20 U.S. jurisdictions, including Florida.

Of those cases, one person died.

Twenty measles cases were reported in 11 jurisdictions by Feb. 15 this year.

At Manatee Bay Elementary, 85 of 1,067 students are unvaccinated, Broward Schools Chief Communications and Legislative Affairs Officer John Sullivan told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

He declined to share the infected students’ vaccination status.

Measles is a highly contagious, airborne virus that lives in the nose and throat mucus. If one person has it, the CDC said, up to 90% of unvaccinated people close to that person will also be infected — unless they’re vaccinated.

Health complications from the virus include diarrhea and vomiting, ear infection, bronchitis, laryngitis, croup, pneumonia, encephalitis and pregnancy problems.

According to the Mayor Clinic, babies born to a mother who received the vaccine or who are already immune because they caught the virus are usually protected from measles for about six months after birth. After that, health care experts recommend they receive full vaccination.