State DOH issues travel advisory due to rising measles cases | Public Service News

MALONE — The state’s Department of Health issued a travel advisory due to rising measles cases, last week, as the spring and summer travel season approaches. Currently measles outbreaks are happening in parts of the U.S. and Canada, especially in the province of Ontario, according to a press release issued Wednesday by the DOH.

The best way to protect against measles is to be up-to-date on immunization with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to the health department.

The total number of measles cases in the U.S., within the first three months of 2025 has already surpassed the total number of cases reported in the country last year, the release said, and a total of 483 measles cases have been reported by 20 U.S. jurisdictions, including in New York and Vermont.

About 90% of people exposed to a person with measles will become infected if they are not vaccinated, according to the press release.

Most of the cases are among children who had not received the MMR vaccine, according to the press release, which states the current outbreak in Canada has reached over 600 cases, with the majority, 570, occurring in Ontario, while the rest were reported in Quebec.

The Franklin County Health Department shared the state advisory on its Facebook page on Thursday.

Reached for comment Monday, Franklin County’s Public Health Director Hannah Busman said the increase in Canadian cases and upcoming school vacation week likely contributed to the state issuing the travel advisory.

“It’s most likely a combination of both, the case numbers being very high, I believe it’s over 500 in Ontario and also for people to be aware because school vacations are coming up, spring break is coming up and people are more likely to travel,” she said, “It’s to inform everybody about it.”

Busman said that anyone six months and older could be eligible for the measles vaccine.

“Anybody, if they had never gotten the vaccine you can still get it at any age above six months,” she said.

According to Busman, if people are interested in receiving the MMR vaccine they can call their primary care provider or their local health department.

“Any local health department, Franklin County included, do vaccines for people, but they can also call their primary care office,” she said.

Busman said if anyone has questions about the vaccine they can reach out to their local health department.

“We are happy to talk to anybody about concerns or questions,” she said.

As of last week, a total of 607 confirmed measles cases were reported by 22 jurisdictions: Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Washington, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – noting that the agency is also aware of probable measles cases being reported by jurisdictions and not reflected in the confirmed case category.