Chemung County confirmed its first case of the measles virus in a resident in a press release on Sept. 14.
The press release stated the health department is investigating one unvaccinated person who began showing symptoms on Sept. 3.
Officials identified “possible public exposure sites” and reached out to known contacts of the infected person.
County Public Health Director Pete Buzzetti told WSKG in a phone call that the county would not provide additional details about geographic location, age, gender or possible hospitalization because he said there is “not a lot of information that can be shared without potentially identifying the individual.”
“This work is done hand-in-hand with the [New York State Department of Health]. They know all of this information,” commented Buzzetti.
He said the county would share more information if this were a case where the person was in a “high traffic area” such as a performance venue or a grocery store, and health officials needed to alert more people.
Buzetti said measles is very contagious and airborne and stated there could be more cases given the county’s 75 percent vaccination rate for Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) and the way the virus is “traveling around” in neighboring counties. However, he said any additional cases would not necessarily be related to the one identified case in Chemung County.
Since August, several upstate counties have confirmed nearly 20 measles cases combined, including one case in Tioga County, five in Otsego County and 10 in Steuben County. All of the people infected in these counties to date are unvaccinated.
There are currently 3,387 measles cases reported nationwide, according to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health U.S. Measles Tracker.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that“vaccine coverage of at least 95% with both doses of measles vaccine prevents outbreaks and protects communities.”
Buzzetti said “the public is not as into vaccines as they used to be” and he “supports people’s right to make decisions for themselves and their families.”
“The vaccine’s available,” said Buzzetti. “It’s available in a lot of places. It’s really the best line of defense. But for those people that don’t believe in that, I respect that.”
The Chemung County press release stated the overall risk for measles to the general public is low, especially in fully vaccinated individuals. People who are unvaccinated, pregnant, under 12 months of age or have weakened immune systems are at higher risk and should consult their health care provider.
Information about vaccination access and availability through your local public health departments can found on their respective county websites.
