WESTON, FLA. (WSVN) - - The Florida Department of Health on Tuesday reported another case of measles in Broward County, bringing the total number of cases to nine. Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Peter Licata also confirmed that the number of cases at Manatee Bay Elementary in Weston rose to seven.
“The total number of reported cases at Manatee Bay Elementary, as of this morning, is now seven,” Licata said. “The individual impacted by this latest case has not physically been on campus since February 15th. As of now, all confirmed cases for Broward County Public Schools are specific to Manatee Bay Elementary with no other district schools impacted,” Licata said. “We continue to work closely with the Florida Department of Health in Broward and appreciate their guidance.”
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz addressed the increase in cases and called on Florida Governor Ron Desantis to fire Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo.
“I want to make clear today that our state leaders our failing us on this front,” Wasserman Schultz said. “Measles is a public health threat to Florida and so is Joe Ladapo.”
Over the weekend, FDOH reported two additional cases of measles in Broward County.
Originally, six cases of measles were identified at Manatee Bay Elementary School, but BCPS officials on Monday confirmed that those two latest cases reported over the weekend did not come from the elementary school.
It remains unknown where those two cases of measles came from.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that unvaccinated children quarantine for up to 21 days if they have been exposed to the measles virus. However, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, has granted parents the authority to determine how long their children can quarantine.
Critics are calling for Ladapo’s firing after providing his guidance in regards to the outbreak.
Wasserman Schultz said Ladapo should’ve followed CDC guidelines and declared a health emergency.
“That did not declare an emergency, did not discuss, recommend or require vaccinations and did not require quarantining potentially exposed children,” Wasserman Schultz said. “Instead, Ladapo places the key decisions fully on parents. Imagine that burden. Wrongly claiming that we have sufficient immunity in place. Surgeon General Ladapo needs to go.”
“It seems that the State Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, has backed away from them and taken a casual attitude about those critical public health measures,” said Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Dr. Paul Offit.
Health officials say people who have been vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella are 98% protected. Health experts explain that transmission can happen about four days before a rash appears and four days after.
“The virus can remain airborne for up to two hours after the person leaves the room. That’s one of the reasons why it is so very contagious. Another problem is that people are contagious or infectious before they get the rash, up to four days ahead of time, so they can unwittingly infect other people before they even have measles,” said Dr. Mary Jo Trepka
infectious disease epidemiologist
“The problem with measles is that we’ve, not only largely eliminated the disease, it’s we’ve eliminated the memory of the disease, and now, somehow, than we feel we can treat it causally. That’s a mistake,” said Offit. “Measles is not a disease you want to catch, it’s not just one of those trivial childhood infections that everyone gets through. Secondly, measles is often a pneumonia. When you get chest X-rays on children with measles, a large percentage have abnormal chest X-rays. Don’t fool around with this disease. Make sure you’re vaccinated.”
According to the school district, about 30% of students at Manatee Bay Elementary are unvaccinated. On Tuesday, 82 students remained absent from school. The school district is urging all unvaccinated students to get the measles vaccine.
Manatee Bay’s 21-day exposure window closes on March 7th. School officials hope there are no more cases in the days to come.
7News reached out to the FDOH for a response but has yet to hear back.
In Florida, there are a total of 10 measles cases reported. One case of the disease was reported in Polk County.
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