March 5 (UPI) — A Florida high school student has been diagnosed with measles in the first reported case this year in Miami-Dade County, according to a school email.
“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,” the email read in part to parents at Miami Palmetto Senior High School in Pinecrest.
It prompted school officials to offer free vaccinations to unvaccinated students with parental consent.
“Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus. It spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. It can cause severe disease, complications, and even death,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Parents, meanwhile, were notified by Miami-Dade’s health department of who had close contact with the infected student.
The United States is on track to see its largest measles outbreak in at least six years.
A district spokesperson on Tuesday confirmed the case but added that no further details could be released because it involves a minor.
“Being in a public school with close quarters, absolutely we believe that vaccination is important. I’m not sure why this happened, if the kid is not vaccinated or just happened to get it,” Yasmin Kazi, a parent and physician, told WSVN in Miami.
The earliest symptoms are a cough, a runny nose and conjunctivitis, or red, watery eyes, followed by sore spots in the mouth and a high fever of 103-104 degrees. Then, a rash typically begins on the scalp or face and spreads down the body.
“We’re hoping that most kids are vaccinated and they won’t get it,” added Kazi.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert. F. Kennedy Jr. has been under pressure amid a perceived lackluster federal response and the recent resignation of a top HHS spokesman over Kennedy’s leadership.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends all people receive two vaccine doses starting with one between 12 months and 15 months of age followed by a booster between ages 4 and 6.
Most vaccinated adults don’t need a booster shot for the measles, which the CDC in 2000 declared eliminated in the United States, experts say, while vaccination rates have declined in recent years.
The CDC said as of Feb. 27 that a total of 164 cases of measles have been reported by nine jurisdictions in New York City, Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Texas, where the first death via measles in more than a decade was recorded on Feb. 25.
