Measles making comeback in Louisiana, cases on the rise in US

Christina Jensen
·2 min read

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Once eradicated in the United States, measles is making a comeback. According to the CDC, cases have been reported in at least 17 states, including Louisiana.

The CDC also said the U.S. has more cases this year alone than were reported in all of 2023. As of April, the CDC states there are 64 cases. In 2023, the case count for the entire year was 58.

“Measles is a pretty contagious virus, actually one of the most contagious infections that exists,” said Michael Bolton, Pediatric Infectious Disease Physician, Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital.

Bolton discussed the consequences of measles and how it spreads.

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“Common symptoms are cough, you get red eyes that sometimes drain, and you get sort of a runny nose and congestion. You’ll then also get a rash that usually starts at your hairline and works its way down,” said Bolton.

Bolton said the Louisiana Department of Health has reported two cases in the Greater New Orleans area. Both individuals were unvaccinated and exposed in another state. Recently, LDH issued a public health guidance for the state.

“It’s extremely important for more people to be vaccinated because it leads to herd immunity. Again, because measles is so transmissible, it’s estimated about 95% of the population needs to be vaccinated in order to stop a measles outbreak,” said Bolton.

In 1963, the measles vaccination was born. The shot was so successful that the disease was later eliminated from the United States in 2000.

“Measles vaccines has been around since the 60’s and then it got combined with mumps and rubella, probably sometime in the 70’s, so it’s been around for about half a century, if not more,” said Bolton.

Fast forward to 2024 and cases are on the rise.

“The vaccination rates are pretty low in our state and around the country and globally as well. If you’re in a room with somebody who has measles and you yourself are unvaccinated there is a really, really high chance, you’re going to get infected,” said Bolton.

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Bolton also said vaccination rates for children since the pandemic could have also fueled the comeback of measles. The CDC recommends kids receive two doses of the vaccine.

“Even healthy kids who are unvaccinated can be severely infected by, by measles. In the state of Louisiana, we have about a 79 to 80% vaccination status for measles, mumps and rubella,” said Bolton.

Bolton also suggested that if you or your kids are unvaccinated, talk to your healthcare professional right away. The vaccine is included in an MMR jab, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella.

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