Infectious disease expert warns against spread of measles outbreak

The best way to prevent a measles outbreak is with its vaccine, Dr. David W. Kimberlin said at a press conference Thursday.

Kimberlin, a Mountain Brook resident and co-director of the UAB Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, addressed the recent measles outbreak in California and how to prevent it from affecting Birmingham.

As of the end of last week, there had been 68 confirmed measles cases in California following exposure at Disney Land, presumably brought from someone who arrived from another country. There have been no related cases in Alabama yet, but Kimberlin said that, like any infectious disease, that could change at any moment with someone arriving in our city via airplane. Last year there was one case of measles in the state, and there have been none so far this year.

Kimberlin warned that the measles are one of the top infectious agents for humans. If someone who is affected coughs and then leaves the room, another person can enter that room later and still catch it, he said. Measles killed about 500 children a year and left many more brain damaged before the vaccine became widespread.

“It’s heart breaking to see it happening all over again when it's avoidable,” Kimberlin said.

Since the last outbreak in 1989, children have generally received the vaccine at ages 15 months and then at 4-6 years of age. Kimberlin said about 95 percent of any population must have the vaccine to prevent the measles from spreading. This applies both to wider populations of Birmingham and Alabama and to smaller populations in communities such as Mountain Brook or even specific neighborhoods.

“We have to make sure we do our part,” he said. “A single person can cause an outbreak if a community is not highly immune.”

According to a Center for Disease Control report released Wednesday, 77 percent of Alabama toddlers have been vaccinated for measles. Rates are higher in Jefferson County, Kimberlin said. The measles vaccine is one of several vaccine series recommended by the CDC. Others include, a vaccine for polio-virus and hepatitis B.

Kimberlin emphasized that the measles vaccine is safe and highly effective.

“A majority of people who have not been vaccinated have gotten confused by all the noise,” he said. “You can find anything on the internet. Trust the experts.”