If no one gets measles within the next three days, the United States can call itself measles-free

This year, the UK and three other European countries have lost their measles-free status, certified by the World Health Organization, in the midst of a dramatic resurgence of the disease in Europe. The measles-free status of the United States (declared in 2000) is still officially pending. A country loses its eradication status if an epidemic from other countries lasts more than 12 months. At this point, it is assumed that the seed has found enough reservoirs to become a local threat again.

Measles is an incredibly contagious but predictable disease. An outbreak can be considered over if no new cases have appeared 42 days after the last case of revealing rash (this period covers two periods of incubation or the time required for an infected person to start to show signs). For Rockland, it was August 13th. But it has not been easy to stop this epidemic.

"We vaccinated nearly 30,000 residents – the actual number was 29,027 – and that was a week ago. And that's three times the reference average for our county, "Patricia Schnabel Ruppert, Health Commissioner for Rockland County, told Gizmodo.

In addition, more than 1,000 people were actively quarantined or monitored, and the county declared two emergency states that were trying to restrict the movement of high-risk people. The initial order, prohibiting the access of unvaccinated minors to certain public spaces, was eventually overturned by a judge following a court challenge from a group of parents, but the second, which applied only to people with measles, was left in place. According to Ruppert, the county was sometimes forced to use subpoenas and statutory orders to compel people to provide information on their children's immunization status or on them, as well as to exclude unvaccinated children. without medical exemption from their studies.

New York City, which has had its own outbreaks in Brooklyn and Queens, has also taken drastic measures to fight the disease. He ordered people living in the Williamsburg area, an epicenter of the epidemic, to be vaccinated or have their children vaccinated, on pain of a fine of $ 1,000.

Much of the epidemics that have affected the country this year originate in people traveling and returning from Israel, where measles is also a major problem. The cases then became widespread in the Orthodox Jewish community. And while many people and religious leaders in these communities adhere to vaccination, it was still difficult to convince some people to cooperate with health officials.

"Some members of the community do not trust the government very easily, but I want to say that most have trusted the health department," said Ruppert. "For those concerned, however, we were able to meet with community leaders, rabbis, administrators and, of course, members of the medical community, to spread the word and use their help to educate. "

Another challenge is anti-vaxxers, who have begun to spread misleading propaganda in these communities about the dangers of vaccines in recent years.

"The anti-vaccination movement has been providing this type of information to the community for longer than we thought. And we found that much of the growth of this movement came from other states. They were not necessarily part of the local population – they came from other states and they came to various meetings and group meetings, where they would bring together those who were more local and were more interested in that, "said Ruppert.

"They were a small but powerful group," she added.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rockland was the only active epidemic in the United States. However, cases have been reported in two neighboring counties recorded after 13 August and these are still related to the Rockland epidemic.

A spokesman for the CDC informed Gizmodo by email that the last outstanding case had been detected on August 19 in Orange County. That means the deadline would be September 30, next Monday. Given that the two-day Jewish holiday in Rosh Hashana will begin Sunday night, it is expected that New York State officials and the CDC will refrain from declaring the United States still unharmed. from measles until October 2nd. This assumes that, fingers crossed, no new cases of the region are found there.

It is a victory for public health that will not have been cheap, however. In Rockland alone, the estimated cost of controlling the epidemic would have been between $ 2.5 million and $ 6.5 million. And the country as a whole has seen more cases of measles this year than since the early 1990s.

Yet these cases have pushed lawmakers to take vaccination more seriously. The state of New York, for example, passed a law prohibiting parents from using non-medical exemptions so that their children would not be vaccinated in a public school, just like others. States and cities. Many experts had long recommended this policy recommendation, a recommendation that Ruppert considered essential for the prevention of future epidemics. But perhaps more important than any single law is to build the confidence needed for people to feel comfortable with immunization right off the bat.

"I think we need to maintain open communication with our entire community in Rockland and educate – educate and vaccinate. That's the other big thing to remember from that.