COLUMBUS, Ohio — According to the City of Columbus, there have been 32 cases of the measles in Central Ohio, with four new cases since Friday.
As of Nov. 17, of the 51 measles cases reported to the CDC across the nation, Columbus Public Health has reported 32 cases in central Ohio, and nearly every child with the potentially life-threatening infection is unvaccinated.
Prior to this year, Ohio had not seen a measles case since 2019. Columbus Public Health reported four cases of the airborne disease from June to October and they were all travel related, but now, Dr. Mysheika Roberts, health commissioner for Columbus Public Health, said that those cases have caused a ripple effect in the community.
“We had four cases that we identified before November that had traveled outside the country that likely brought this into our community, and it spread among our young kids who were not vaccinated, but are eligible for the vaccine,” said Roberts.
A majority of the cases were children under the age of five, and 30 of the them were unvaccinated according to officials. One child’s vaccination status is unknown according to Columbus Public Health’s report. Children should receive their first dose of the vaccine at 12 months and their second dose between four and six years old, according to Roberts. Measles can cause fever, coughing, watery eyes and a rash of red spots.
Five CDC personnel arrived in Columbus on Sunday night to help CPH early Monday morning. They will stay in the capital city for the next few weeks, hoping to figure out what happened and gain control of the situation.
“We hope to get better information about the demographics and really tell the story of our cases, of our 32 cases,” said Roberts. “We’re also trying to work hard with our health care providers to see if there are additional cases that might have been missed and misdiagnosed.”
According to CPH, Columbus’ measles vaccine coverage is fairly low compared to other cities in the country.
“It is based on race and ethnicity,” said Roberts.
“We know certain racial groups have higher vaccination coverage than others,” said Roberts. “For example, our Latino population has a much higher MMR vaccination coverage than the rest of our community, but our measles, mumps and rubella vaccine coverage is not where it should be, and it is lower than it is in other municipalities across the country.”
Columbus Public Health and the CDC will collaborate to get vaccination numbers up in various demographics, but in the meantime, the best thing you can do is make sure your child is vaccinated.
“Check your child’s vaccination status and make sure they’re up to date on all their vaccines, but particularly their measles, mumps and rubella,” said Roberts.
There have been no other cases reported in the state. If your child is experiencing the symptoms of measles, Columbus Public Health can be reached at 614-645-1519.
