Rockland county declared a state of emergency after recording 153 cases since October, part of a series of measles outbreaks in the US

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A suburb of New York City has declared a state of emergency and banned unvaccinated children from public areas, as the United States struggles to control a series of measles outbreaks.

Rockland county, five miles north-west of New York City, announced the measure on Tuesday afternoon after recording 153 cases of measles since October.

It is the latest region of the US to take drastic steps to counter the virus, with the spike in measles cases leading to concerns that anti-vaccine parents may be putting their children at risk.

The Washington state governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency in January in response to the state’s own measles outbreak, while the federal agency the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said other outbreaks – defined as three or more cases – have occurred in Texas, Illinois, California and New York City in 2019.

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The state of emergency in Rockland county, which comes into effect at midnight on Tuesday, bars anyone under 18 who is not vaccinated against measles from public places for 30 days.

“This is a public health crisis and it is time to sound the alarm and take the appropriate action,” said the Rockland county executive Ed Day.

“We owe this to the residents of this great county so we never ever have to go through this again.”

Rockland county had previously banned unvaccinated children from attending certain schools, but the new measure is the most aggressive move yet. Day said people found to be violating the order would be referred to the district attorney’s office.

“Parents will be held accountable if they’re found to be in violation of the state of emergency and the focus of this effort is on the parents of these children,” Day said.

“We are urging them, now with the authority of law, to get your children vaccinated.”

Day said the county had traced the outbreak to seven “unvaccinated travelers” who had visited Rockland in 2018. The county has had 48 cases of measles in 2019 alone, according to a spokesman.

Children are most at risk from measles, according to the CDC. As many as one out of every 20 children infected with measles will contract pneumonia, while one in 1,000 will die from the virus. Other complications can include swelling of the brain, which can lead to deafness or disabilities. Unvaccinated pregnant women are also deemed high risk – measles can lead to premature birth.

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From 1 January to 21 March of this year 314 cases of measles were confirmed in 15 different states, according to the CDC. There were 372 cases in 2018, more than triple the number the previous year. The rise has been linked to “anti-vaxxers”, activists who claim, incorrectly but loudly, that vaccines can have negative effects.

The CDC said cases in New York State, New York City and New Jersey had “occurred primarily among unvaccinated people in Orthodox Jewish communities”.

And that the cases “are linked to travelers who brought measles back from other countries such as Israel and Ukraine, where large measles outbreaks are occurring”.

“Eighty-two people brought measles to the US from other countries in 2018,” the center said.

“This is the greatest number of imported cases since measles was eliminated from the US in 2000.”