Measles epidemic in Rockland: questions and answers with the health commissioner

INCUBATION: keep unvaccinated students at home

ÉCLOSION: Rockland officials call for measles immunization

The next clinic will be from 9:30 am to 11:30 am at Spring Valley's Darden Center, Dr. Berg Lane.

Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert, Health Commissioner of Rockland County, answered a few questions about measles and this epidemic.

Why is measles so worrying?

"It's a serious disease that can be prevented by vaccination," she said of measles, pointing out that the treatment was symptomatic and that there were no antivirals nor antibiotics able to fight measles. "But we can prevent other infections."

According to Ruppert, measles is very contagious and if an unvaccinated person enters a room up to two hours after the presence of the infected person, there is a good chance that she is infected.

"It's one that has a number of complications, including other infections," she said. "Ear infections, pneumonia, meningitis, encephalitis and some of these have permanent complications."

How does it compare to chicken pox?

"Chicken pox also has complications, including pneumonia for example, but measles, I would say it's a more serious disease as a whole," she said. She noted that a person who had chicken pox in her childhood could be exposed to shingles, but once diagnosed with measles, she is protected from shingles.

When would you consider this outbreak contained?

"We are at the end of the first incubation period and we are going into high school," said Ruppert. The epidemic will be contained "when we have finished seeing other cases and we continue to see … hopefully to zero. It depends on how quickly the community reacts and tries to contain it. "

According to the state's Department of Health, most of the initial contacts took place in Monsey and New Square, but there were other sites in Nanuet, New City and Montvale, New York. Jersey.

Ruppert said the affected people were a combination of children and adults and that some were directly infected with the main cases that had contracted the disease in Israel and that the others came from exposure sites. secondary.

She said that it is not surprising to see secondary cases like this one.

"I really want people to take it seriously and get vaccinated," she said. Otherwise, we will see more. "

What can we do here in Rockland?

"We are a small county geographically and it is important for everyone to check their status, and even if we investigate very carefully, it is difficult to determine exactly where each person is every day. Be immunized or vaccinated. "

Health officials are spreading the word about vaccination clinics and the epidemic via social media, local media and signage in the community.

Non-immunized children attending schools with students who have tested positive for measles must stay home 21 days after the last known exposure. For some students, it is November 3, but others will have to stay home even longer if they are not vaccinated, and these dates change as more cases are discovered, said Ruppert.

Residents must receive two doses of the vaccine and children under 4 need only one, but they can safely receive the second dose in case of an outbreak.

You are considered immune:

• If you were born before 1957.
• If you have received two doses of the MMR vaccine.
• If a doctor confirms that you are immune.
• If a doctor can confirm measles.

Everyone should check their vaccination record or contact their health care provider if in doubt, officials said. Anyone suspected of having measles should call before entering to minimize the risk of exposure.

About measles

Symptoms of measles include fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes, and rash. People are contagious four days before and after the onset of rash and the symptoms usually appear about 12 days after exposure.

For more questions about measles, call the New York State Department of Health toll free at 888-364-4837.