Amid the measles outbreak in Florida, the surgeon general is going against medical guidelines

When a cluster of measles cases grew at a south Florida elementary school, the state’s surgeon general sent a letter to parents that contradicted widespread medical guidance on how to prevent the disease from spreading.

Doctors and health officials generally recommend that children who have not been vaccinated against measles isolate for 21 days after being exposed at school. In the letter, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said it is up to parents and guardians to determine when their children can go to school, even if those children have not been vaccinated against the disease.

“Due to the high risk of infection, it is normally recommended that children remain at home until the end of the infectious period,” the letter said. However, the Department of Health “leaves it up to parents or guardians to make decisions regarding school attendance,” continued the letter, sent to parents at Manatee Bay Elementary School in Weston, Florida.

Dr. Ladapo added that these recommendations could change in the future and stressed that children with measles symptoms should not attend school. From Friday there were six confirmed cases at the school, according to Broward County Public Schools.

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world. Cases and deaths have been rising around the world, in part as health officials have struggled to vaccinate people in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and rising vaccine hesitancy. In January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned doctors to “stay alert for measlesAs more cases emerged in the United States, largely among unvaccinated children and adolescents.

Dr. Ladapo, a former clinical researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, has played a prominent role in the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, appearing with the governor at events that mainstream public health experts have repeatedly criticized for spreading. dangerous untruths.

Since Mr. DeSantis appointed him in 2021, Dr. Ladapo has joined anti-vaccine claims about Covid-19 vaccines, making misleading claims about their risks. At one point, the Food and Drug Administration responded to his claims, saying such misinformation “puts people at risk of death or serious illness.”

Doctors expressed concern about Dr.’s statements. Ladapo about measles. “He said you don’t have to quarantine, just go out and infect as many people as you want,” said Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Health said the office had no further comment and referred back to the letter.

In January, Dr. Ladapo calls for a halt to Covid vaccines. “In principle, freedom trumps public health, and freedom trumps protection,” said Dr. Offit, who called the letter “absurd” and “incredible.”

Dr. Nandita Mani, an infectious disease physician at the University of Washington Medical Center, called the letter “very concerning.” An unvaccinated person exposed to measles will almost certainly become infected, she said. “It’s just so transferable.”

How does measles spread?

The measles circulates particularly well in late winter and early spring. The virus spreads when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes, said Dr. Mani. It can linger in the air and on surfaces. “Someone with measles doesn’t need to cough on you, you don’t need to touch him or her,” says Dr. Gary Reschak, a pediatrician at Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital.

“If there was someone with measles in the room, they left, an hour later you go in and you’re susceptible – there’s a 90 percent chance you can pick that up,” he said.

The CDC advises that children are vaccinated against measles from the age of 12 to 15 months. People who are fully vaccinated against measles are about 97 percent protected against infection.

However, when measles spreads within a community, “unvaccinated people are going to be found quite quickly,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

For most children, a measles infection will be quite mild, he said. Symptoms may include fever, cough, runny noses, red eyes, and rash.

However, the disease can be serious, especially in people with a compromised immune system, pregnant women and children under 5 years of age. About one in five unvaccinated people in the United States who get measles end up in the hospital, according to the CDC. People can get pneumonia, the most common cause of death from measles among young children; their brains can also swell, leading to deafness or intellectual disabilities, the agency reported.

Health officials usually recommend a 21-day quarantine for unvaccinated schoolchildren because that is the amount of time it takes for people to develop symptoms.

“You want to keep the schools open, but the minimum you have to say is that if you are not vaccinated, for whatever reason, you should just stay home until we get this under control,” said Dr. Adalja.

Patricia Mazzei reporting contributed.