Two cases of measles have been confirmed within New York City, as an outbreak that has infected more than 150 people and killed one child continues to ravage West Texas. The New York City Department of Health confirmed the cases at the end of February and that the cases were not from people who had interacted with each other, which experts say is a testament to how fast it spreads. CBS News reported on Tuesday evening that the two patients were an infant and a child, both of whom have made a full recovery.
According to the DOH website, 14 cases were reported in New York City last year, after only one case had been reported in the previous four years combined. The low numbers from those previous years came after a spike in 2019 that saw over 600 infections citywide, which led to tighter enforcement of vaccine regulations for school enrollment that was decisive in lowering the rate of infection in the following years.
Measles can cause long-term complications like permanent hearing loss due to ear infection, permanent brain damage due to encephalitis, or subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) – a rare but fatal brain infection that can develop 7 to 10 years after contracting the disease.
The MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine is highly effective against measles, as health experts report that it is 97% effective at preventing the disease after two doses and does not require boosters to maintain immunity. Conversely, if someone has measles, 90% of the people around them will also contract it if they are not vaccinated against it. In the years before the vaccine’s development, the virulent outbreaks of measles caused 3 to 4 million infections and 500 deaths a year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that vaccination rates of kindergarteners across the country fell by around 2.5% between 2020 and 2024.
