Measles has been detected within the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) as an outbreak continues in the Twin Cities metro area, according to school and health officials.
“Measles has recently been identified within the MPS community. Due to privacy, we are unable to disclose any more details at this time,” a spokesperson for the school district told NTD News in an email Thursday.
The spokesperson said the best way to protect against infection is through vaccination, including the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
According to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the state has had 59 reported cases of measles this year.
Both school and health officials say they are working closely to stop the spread.
It is unclear how many cases have been detected in the schools.
A health department spokesperson told NTD News that they are working with unvaccinated persons to exclude them from outbreak areas and further stop the spread of the disease.
Information can be found online, with updates every Tuesday and Thursday related to the current outbreak that began in May.
According to state health data, of those infected, four are under the age of one, 24 are between the ages of one to five, 22 are between the ages of five to 19, and one is older than 20-years-old. Twelve people have been hospitalized.
Infections spiked in late July through early September but have since slowed down, with the last confirmed case Sept. 15, marking the largest gap since June.
Infections Among Somali Community
In an Aug. 28 news release, health officials said unvaccinated children in the Somali community have accounted for the majority of infections and recommended people stay up to date on their vaccinations.
“Measles is currently circulating, and infections can be severe … I urge all parents to be sure that their children are vaccinated because we know that vaccination offers the best protection,” Dr. Ruth Lynfield, state epidemiologist and medical director at the Minnesota Department of Health, said in a press release.
They said the MMR vaccine has proven safe after 50 years since it was first released and denied rumors that it causes autism in children.
“Some families seem concerned that the MMR vaccine is somehow linked to autism, but this is a myth. Regrettably, vaccination rates against measles have dropped significantly in our Somali community over the past 10-15 years, yet the number of autism cases have not decreased,” Dr. Abdul Abdi, a pediatrician at Children’s Minnesota, said in the same news release. “This clearly demonstrates that there is no link between the MMR vaccine and autism.”
The highly contagious disease causes a rash and is easily spread by coughing, sneezing, or close contact with infected persons. According to health officials, it can be spread before symptoms are present in those infected.
Officials said vaccination also helps avoid quarantine measures, as those infected must quarantine for 21 days, miss social events, and be confined at home.
Children without health insurance can visit their local public health department or local public health immunization clinic, which can be found online. More than 750 health care providers are enrolled in Minnesota Vaccines for Children, a program that offers free or low-cost vaccines for children in Minnesota.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000, meaning there wasn’t a continuous spread of the disease for at least 12 months.
There were zero reported cases in Minnesota last year, 22 cases in 2022, and zero cases recorded between 2019 and 2021, according to state health data. The state saw its largest reported outbreak in 2017 when 75 cases were recorded.
The disease typically spreads in Minnesota after someone travels to or from countries where measles is common, arriving infectious in the state, according to health officials.