Measles outbreaks are continuing to expand in Texas and New Mexico, with 284 reported cases and two deaths of unvaccinated people so far.
Nationwide, there have been 308 measles cases so far this year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Friday. That surpasses the total number cases reported for all of 2024 — 285.
Dr. Puthiery Va, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald
No cases have been reported in Maine yet this year, and the state’s high vaccination rate reduces the risk of an outbreak here.
But Maine is not totally immune from the disease. The last measles case in Maine was in 2023, when one child contracted the disease.
The Press Herald caught up with Dr. Puthiery Va, director of the Maine CDC, to help answer Mainers’ questions about vaccinations, the risks of the disease, and reports of alternative prevention methods and treatments.
Here is what you need to know.
Where is measles showing up in the U.S.?
Outside the big outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico, measles cases have been reported in Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
What is the measles and why is it dangerous?
Measles is a viral disease that causes the spotted rash often seen in news photos, as well as fever, cough, runny nose and conjunctivitis (eye infection), among other symptoms.
It can cause severe complications.
“The measles is harmful. It can cause brain swelling, pneumonia, loss of hearing and loss of life,” Va said.
About one to three in every 1,000 cases can result in death. Before the measles vaccine was introduced in the 1960s, the infection caused 400-500 deaths per year.
How does it spread and how is it stopped?
“The measles is incredibly contagious, and one reason it’s so contagious and so good at spreading is it’s airborne,” Va said.
“The individual is contagious for longer than they are feeling ill, four days before they have symptoms to up to 21 days after they were exposed to the virus. So people are moving around, going about their daily lives and still very much contagious.”
Measles is considered so contagious that if one person has it, nine of 10 people in the same room are likely to contract the measles, if they are unvaccinated.
“Vaccination is the only, most effective way to prevent measles,” Va said.
When should my child get the measles vaccine?
The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine — MMR — is recommended for children ages 12-15 months, followed by a booster for children ages 4-6 years.
If a family is traveling to an area experiencing a measles outbreak, that may slightly alter the recommendation, Va said. For instance, if you have a 10-month-old child and are traveling to West Texas, where measles is spreading, Va said to go ahead and get the shot early.
Maine passed a law in 2019 that went into effect in 2021 that requires all school-age children to be vaccinated for measles and a number of other infectious diseases, such as pertussis and chickenpox. Previously, parents could sign a form forgoing vaccination for their children on religious or philosophic grounds. Maine eliminated those opt-outs, and now the only way a family can forgo school-required vaccines for their child is through a medical exemption.
Does that mean Maine is better protected?
Since the law went into effect, Maine’s school vaccination rates have soared, and kindergarten opt-out rates plummeted from about 4% to 6% in the years leading up to the law going into effect, to 0.9% in the 2023-24 school year.
Maine’s schools also achieved herd immunity for the first time since 2011, with 97% of all students getting their shots for all vaccinations, in the 2023-24 school year. Herd immunity is when immunization levels are so high that it doesn’t allow even highly contagious diseases like measles to spread.
“Our high vaccination rates are why we haven’t seen a measles outbreak here in Maine,” Va said. “Because we have such a good vaccination rate, the measles doesn’t have an opportunity to spread.”
Do older adults need to get a measles vaccine booster?
Those born between 1957 and 1967 should check with their primary care physician to see if they need a booster shot, because during that time the vaccine given for measles was weaker than later variations of the vaccine.
Va said that typically someone born in that time period will take a blood test to see if they have immunity to measles, and if immunity has waned, their doctor may recommend a booster shot.
This is a standing recommendation, but has been the focus of more public attention recently because of the measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico.
Can Vitamin A prevent or treat measles?
Misinformation about measles prevention continues to spread, including about the vaccine and vitamin A.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the new health and human services secretary and an anti-vaccine activist, recently told Fox News that the measles vaccine can cause the measles. This is false.
Kennedy has also floated the idea that vitamin A can treat measles, but according to Johns Hopkins University, “Vitamin A is not a cure or prevention for measles.”
Vitamin A can be useful for measles in “populations with a high prevalence of undernutrition and vitamin A deficiency, which is generally not the case in the U.S.”
In areas with vitamin A deficiency, such as some developing countries, vitamin A supplements could reduce measles mortality by about half, according to Johns Hopkins.