The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reports a large increase in confirmed measles cases in Iowa and Lafayette counties — up from two to 15 confirmed and six probables as of Thursday morning. “The rapid emergence of these cases, particularly among people who have not traveled outside of Wisconsin, indicates that there is active local transmission, and it’s very likely that additional cases exist in the community that have not yet been identified or reported to public health,” said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, Chief Medical Officer in the Bureau of Communicable Diseases
DHS is working with county public health agencies to identify and interview people who may have been exposed, to try to limit the spread of this outbreak. “We are hoping that this is a small outbreak and that we contain it quickly, but actually right now it’s a dynamic situation and we’re actively doing the work to try to understand the extent, meaning how far it possibly has spread. And then we have to wait to see if additional people develop symptoms because that would be a sign that it’s getting larger.”
Westerggard stressed that vaccinations remain the best way to prevent the spread of measles and other vaccine preventable illnesses. For measles, a high threshold of 93% to 95% vaccination rates is needed to achieve herd immunity. That’s a standard none of Wisconsin’s 72 counties comes near. The vaccination rate in Iowa County is just over 66%, and 48% in Lafayette County.