The New York City Department of Health is looking into a measles outbreak in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx.
Health officials say they’ve confirmed 16 cases of the disease, with nine of them in children.
Four people have wound up in the hospital, according to health officials, including a child treated two weeks ago.
Health officials say that there are typically between five and 10 cases of measles in an entire year.
Dr. Marguerite Mayers, an infectious disease specialist at the Children’s Hospital of Montefiore, says that two doses of the measles vaccine is required for full protection.
One is required at 12 months of age, and the other, which is a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, is required at 4 to 6 years of age, before the child goes to school.
Mayers said that if you’ve had two doses of the vaccine, you should be protected for life and do not need another booster.
Often, the measles virus begins as a rash on the face and spreads down to the rest of the body.
It’s usually accompanied by cold-like symptoms, a high fever, coughing, red eyes, and a runny nose, lasting five to six days.
The highly contagious disease spreads through air droplets.
Mayers said it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why there has been an outbreak now, but two of the children who got measles were not vaccinated due to parental refusal.
She urged all parents to vaccinate their children.
“Any vaccine can give you a little bit of fever, might be giving you some rash. There has been no serious consequences associated with the MMR vaccine. In fact, the attribution of autism to the MMR has been disproved in many forms over the past 20 years,” Mayers said.
The Department of Health is urging New Yorkers to get a shot and to make sure any children over 12 months old are also vaccinated.
Officials are also asking pediatricians to reach out to their patients.
For anyone who is not sure whether their vaccination is up to date, take a blood test or just get another shot.
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