Tri-State doctors brace for impact as U.S. measles cases are on the rise

ASHLAND, Ky. (WSAZ) – Measles cases have spiked in the last three months to where we are now at triple-digit case numbers in the United States.

The CDC is reporting around 113 cases of measles. None are in our region, but pediatricians like Dr. Jonathan Maynard at King’s Daughters Ashland Pediatrics are bracing for the impact here.

“It’s kind of one of those things where it feels inevitable, it’s just a matter of when it’s going to happen,” Maynard said, adding that a decline in vaccination rates is a cause for concern.

“There’s a growing amount of vaccine hesitancy and declination because there is a huge amount of misinformation,” he said.

Patients who have denied the measles vaccine for their children say their worry about the vaccine’s safety.

In a recent advisory to health care workers, the CDC says two doses of the vaccine are 97% effective, and pockets of low vaccination coverage leave communities at risk.

“The most insidious thing about measles is you’re actually contagious for about five days before you even get symptoms,” Maynard said. “You don’t even have to have person-to-person contact to spread it. All you have to do is be in the same room with someone.”

Ahead of spring and summer travel, doctors stress the importance of vaccination as the CDC reports 93% of cases have been linked to international travel.

“There isn’t a great prevention beyond vaccination,” Maynard said.

Research proves that to be true. If you look at the data prior to the measles vaccine, it was implicated in 2 million annual deaths per year.

“In the United States specifically, 1 in 500 people who had a reported case died,” Maynard said.

If you’re concerned about travel, you can check to see the measles vaccination rates of where you’re going. Herd immunity is around 83 to 94%.

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