Video above: Measles cases reported in Hillsborough, Manatee counties
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A measles outbreak has been reported at a university in southwest Florida.
The Florida Department of Health said its Collier County office is working with Ave Maria University officials in response to the outbreak.
Eleven cases of the disease are linked to the Catholic university, according to local media reports.
A staff member at Ave Maria’s Mater Dei Clinic told Gulf Coast News and the Naples Daily News that he believes three or four students have been hospitalized, but the outbreak has been contained to the campus.
Anyone who may have been exposed to the disease, or is interested in preventative options, is asked to contact the health department.
Florida Department of Health records indicate 14 measles cases were reported last month, including in Hillsborough and Manatee counties. This number does not include the Collier County cases, as the database has not been updated this week.
A highly contagious disease, measles can cause serious health complications, especially in young children. Measles patients experience symptoms like fever and cough, as well as a rash, according to the CDC.
“One infected measles individual will spread to about 12 to 18 individuals that are unvaccinated. Measles is one of the most highly contagious diseases that we have. It is so contagious that it stays in the air for up to two hours after you have had a measles patient walk through a facility,” Dr. Lisa Rush, a member of the Hillsborough County Medical Association, told 8 On Your Side last month.
Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, meaning no new cases of the disease were acquired within the country. Twenty five years later, cases of the disease reached a 34-year high.
