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Editor´s note: We have corrected this article to reflect that at the time of writing no more cases of measles -other than one student at Miami Palmetto Senior High School- have been reported in South Florida.
A student at Miami Palmetto Senior High School tested positive for measles, school officials said Tuesday.
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WATCH HEREDue to HIPAA regulations, the student's age and grade level cannot be disclosed, Miami-Dade County Public Schools officials said.
The confirmation does not indicate the student was present at school Tuesday, officials said.
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The exact date when the student tested positive was not known.
Yasmin Kazi, who has a son at Miami Palmetto Senior High School, said she got a call from the school's principal Tuesday.
“It’s concerning,” Kazi said. “With Covid and the flu here, and now the measles, it is concerning that our kid could fall sick.”
The news spread quickly throughout the day. Kazi said she received several other calls.
“We got some phone calls from family telling us somebody has measles in the school,” Kazi said.
As of Tuesday, Texas officials confirmed the number of measles cases in the state has risen to nearly 160. Last week, an unvaccinated child died in the outbreak.
Measles cases have recently been reported in New Mexico, Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
Measles is a respiratory disease caused by one of the world’s most contagious viruses. The virus is airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It most commonly affects kids.
The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.
In an interview with NBC6 last year during a prior uptick on measles cases, Dr. Hanadys Ale, a pediatric immunologist and allergist at Hospital Memorial Healthcare System, said she was seeing a drop in herd immunity.
According to the World Health Organization, herd immunity is defined as the indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection.
“That is the window in which the virus can take advantage,” Dr. Ale said.
Her message to parents is to vaccinate their children.
“We want to not see it again, we want our children to not have to deal with any of this,” Dr. Ale said.
Kazi, like many other parents, echoes that message.
“We're hoping most kids are vaccinated and they won't get it but the spread can happen,” she said.
