Global measles cases shot up by nearly 80% last year, and recent outbreaks in the south highlight the need for us to separate politics from vaccination, said Louisiana State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter this week.
He was speaking to WWL’s Newell Normand for his last appearance as health officer. However, he did say that listeners can still expect him to pop up as an expert guest.
“You know, most of these cases originate with someone that travels internationally, gets exposed internationally, comes back, and then find a pocket of folks domestically that are not protected… not vaccinated here that don’t have antibodies against it,” he said of the recent measles cases.
According to the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, measles was eradicated in the U.S. around 24 years ago before its recent comeback. This week, the organization issued a statement encouraging vaccination against the contagious disease.
“There’s ten cases in Florida right now – nine of which are tied to Broward County – most of which to an elementary school there,” Kanter explained.
“And then we’ve got two cases in New Orleans, which are, two young kids… whose family traveled in from out of state. And we don't believe that those have spread beyond... that family yet.”
However, he said it might take weeks to determine whether the viral infection has spread. Individuals with measles can experience a rash, high fiver, runny nose, cough, and red, watery eyes. It is a dangerous condition, especially for babies and children, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In order to prevent outbreaks of measles, widespread vaccination is key, said Kanter. He also noted that vaccination rates have been dropping in recent years.
“To me, this is a real wakeup call that we got to be redoubling our efforts and try and get some of the politics out of this,” he said.
Listen to Kanter’s full conversation with Normand here.