TAMPA, Fla. — Health officials continue to track measles cases across the country.
It’s a highly contagious disease.
“In fact when you have one person infected, it can transfer, transmit the infection to up to 9 or 10 other people,” said Dr.Christian Brechot, USF Professor and Vice Chair of the Global Virus Network, at the beginning of the outbreak.
WATCH Health experts predict spread in measles cases during summer travel months
According to the CDC, as of this month, the United States has officially surpassed 1,000 measles cases, at 1,001.
Cases have been confirmed in 31 states, including Florida.
According to the CDC, 13% of cases have been hospitalized, the majority of those being children under the age of 5.
Sadly, 3 people have died from measles.
“Measles is really pretty bad for little kids,” said Dr. Michael Teng, Virologist and USF Health Associate Professor.
He and other health officials believe most of the cases are in people who are unvaccinated.
“You need a vaccination rate somewhere around 95% in the population because measles is that infectious,” said Teng.
“Knowing that those immunization rates have fallen as well are concerning,” said Dr. Christina Canody, BayCare Kids Medical Director.
As officials work to get spread under control. Experts believe with summer travel, we could see more cases.
“Summer is a huge time for upcoming travel,” said Canody.
“Somebody had to bring the measles virus in because measles is not naturally circulating in the united states. Most of our cases are importation cases. Measles is one of them. Most of them come from somewhere else,” said Teng.
Since Florida is a tourist destination, doctors believe it's likely we’ll see more measles cases from people traveling to the state.
“One concern for us here in Florida is we are destination state. So we see a lot of families travel here for spring break and summer vacation and that is a concern here as well as we see a lot of travelers enjoy all the great things we have in our state,” said Canody.
While for many people who get measles, it’s mild, Teng said there's a serious concern for unvaccinated children.
“For some kids it’s a matter of life or death. These are not infections with no consequences,” said Teng.
Officials encourage people to talk to their doctors about any concerns and make sure they’re up to date on their vaccines.
“We know vaccines are safe and effective and they are something that you really should talk to your provider about,” said Canody.
“It's a little nerve-wracking.”
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