New Mexico’s first measles outbreak since 1996 began in February, totaling 100 cases across nine counties with one reported death. Now the state’s Department of Health says the outbreak is over with the last case it trackedreported on August 14th.
However, the virus should remain a concern, said Dr. Meghan Brett, an epidemiologist at the University of New Mexico Hospital. It can linger in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves a space she said.said.
“Typically, for example, one person with flu can infect up to two other people, but one person with Measles can infect somewhere between 16 to 18 other people.”.
Federal health officials had confirmed 1,544 cases across the country this year, the most in three decades. In the Mountain West, cases were reported in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming.
Dr. Brett encourages people to get vaccinated to protect themselves and others from Measles which is highly infectious and can make a person vulnerable to other serious conditions.
“The consequences of measles infection is profound, because it can lead to really serious outcomes like pneumonia and encephalitis. So that's a brain infection, but the other thing that Measles can do is it actually wipes out the memory of your immune system” she said.
According to federal data, 92% of the cases in the U.S.involved people who were not vaccinated or for whom there was no vaccination information.
Brett said misinformation about vaccines is partly to blame.
“I think what concerns me the most is that there is a lot of data to support the safety of these vaccines, and I think the amount of misinformation from a variety of sources is probably posing the greatest risk,” she said.
Preventing measles through widespread vaccination is a significantly more cost-effective strategy for communities, individuals, and public health institutions, according to theNational Institutes of Health (NIH).
A recent article published by the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health reported on the economic impact of a 2019 Measles outbreak in Clark County, Washington.
“Researchers calculated the overall cost of the outbreak to be US$3.14 million, or US$47,479 per case. Direct medical costs were just the tip of the iceberg, with the public health response incurring approximately two-thirds of the total (more than US$2.3M).”
Dr. Brett believes there is a community-friendly component to be considered as well.
“I think I would like to just continue to ask people to have more pro social behavior, continuing to think about not only yourself that's important, but also your community members, your grandparents, your children, what the consequences are of passing infections to the ones that you love.”
