2 new measles cases linked to infected child in Bergen County
BERGEN COUNTY, New Jersey (WABC) -- Several weeks after an unvaccinated child in Bergen County tested positive for measles, health officials now confirm two of the child's family members, who were also unvaccinated, have also contracted the highly infectious disease.
It comes as a separate outbreak in Texas led to the death of an unvaccinated child and health experts say it is a troubling trend.
"The vaccine is a personal decision, but also it affects other people as well, so when you don't vaccinate yourself, if there's any loved ones that you're around or just people in general that you are around, you could potentially infect them and cause them to have complications," said Dr. Matt Scro with Bergen New Bridge Medical Center.
Officials also say the child inBergen County visited three different medical facilities while infected, potentially exposing others during the dates and times listed:
- 2/8/2025, 12:15 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. PromptMD Urgent Care, 2059 Hudson Street, Fort Lee, NJ 07024
- 2/9/2025, 11:30 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. Englewood Hospital Emergency Department, 350 Engle Street, Englewood, NJ 07631
- 2/9/2025, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Hackensack University Medical Center, 30 Prospect Avenue Hackensack, NJ 07601
The New Jersey Department of Health recommends that anyone who visited those locations during the specified dates and times to contact a health care provider immediately.
Health officials said people who were exposed could develop symptoms until as late as March 6.
"Somebody who's infected with measles can be transmitting it to another person for days before they even have the symptoms," said Dr. Perry N. Halkitis, Dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health. "And what is really problematic about measles and the spread is that it's an airborne disease. And so that it can exist in the air for two hours after somebody has been in a room."
Experts say no vaccine is foolproof, but it will likely prevent someone from developing complications.
And there is some good news for people who are unvaccinated and may have been exposed.
"If you are infected, you can be vaccinated up to 72 hours after exposure, and that has beneficial effects," Halkitis said.
Measles symptoms mimic cold and flu symptoms and the person can also develop a rash. Call a doctor if you're not vaccinated and think you may have been exposed.
The CDC currently recommends people receive two vaccine doses, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective. Most vaccinated adults don't need a booster.
Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, due to the highly effective vaccination program, according to the CDC. However, vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years.
About 93% of kindergarteners nationwide received select routine childhood vaccines, including the MMR vaccine, for the 2022-23 school year, according to a November 2023 CDC report.
This is about the same as the previous school year, but lower than the 94% seen in the 2020-22021 school year and the 95% seen in the 2019-2020 school year, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The latter percentage had been the standard for about 10 years.
ABC News contributed to this report.
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