New Jersey health experts are encouraging residents to remain vigilant amid an ongoing measles outbreak in Lakewood Township, according to Asbury Park Press.
Here are three things to know:
1. Glenn Fennelly, MD, chairman and professor of the pediatrics department of Newark-based Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, has followed media coverage of the measles outbreak since it started in late October. While New York has reported far more measles cases than New Jersey, Dr. Fennelly says New Jerseyans should still make sure they are vaccinated to prevent the disease from spreading.
"No community is an island," he told Asbury Park Press. "Without sustained high levels of vaccination in all communities there will continue to be this type of outbreak. You can compare it to a risk of a forest fire and these vulnerable children are tinder."
2. About 13,500 children in New Jersey are not vaccinated for medical or religious reasons, according to state data cited by Asbury Park Press. While that figure only accounts for 2.5 percent of students in the state, health officials consider these children vulnerable to potential outbreaks. About 2,800 measles vaccines were administered at a health center in Lakewood since the outbreak started Oct. 24.
3. Currently, there are 14 known measles case in Ocean County, N.J. Ten additional cases are under investigation. Rockland County, N.Y. has 74 cases. New York City's Brooklyn borough reported 24 cases. The outbreaks are connected to people traveling to the U.S. from Israel, where a severe measles outbreak is ongoing.
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