COMMENTARY: Here’s what to do about measles scare

Despite being officially eliminated in 2000, this is the largest measles outbreak in the United States since 2019, and public health officials expect the spread to continue for at least a year. Washington has noticed, with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly urging people to receive the measles vaccine.

While the measles outbreak is alarming, Americans can still take action in various ways.

There are numerous factors contributing to the measles outbreak, so it is essential to understand them and take proper measures to help quell the spread. First, the outbreak is happening because the measles virus spreads through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks. However, the virus can also spread through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects.

People must know when they are infected. While vaccination is a powerful weapon in our arsenal, as public health experts have made clear, it is not the only one.

Detection can go a long way in controlling the spread of a highly contagious virus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if a single person has measles, 90 percent of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected. Uniquely, the virus can live for up to two hours in the air or on a surface where an infected individual has sneezed or coughed. Crowded places such as airports make people especially susceptible, hence the viral spread to states other than Texas.

Because measles is so contagious, the most effective way to control its spread is by immediately reporting, testing and subsequently diagnosing the presence of the virus as soon as a non-immune individual begins showing symptoms — from a fever or a cough to red, irritated eyes. Measles is diagnosed by collecting a throat or nasopharyngeal swab sample and testing it for measles RNA and antibodies using an RT-PCR test. If infected, patients should be isolated for four days to prevent the spread of the virus to other non-immune people around them.

Unfortunately, once infected, there is no designated antiviral treatment for measles. In most cases, symptoms can be managed with rest, fluids and fever reducers.

The first step is getting tested. It is impossible to manage symptoms or control the spread if many people are not even cognizant of measles infections. Remember: Testing was pivotal in our collective efforts to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. While the COVID vaccine was critical, we were able to contain and mitigate the virus by identifying infected individuals and preventing further person-to-person transmission.

We can apply the same lesson to the current measles outbreak and future pandemics. There is no reason to panic as long as we continue to report, test and diagnose highly contagious diseases with great efficacy. The same goes for producing millions of tests to use.

There is absolutely no substitute for early detection, nor is there a substitute for individual responsibility. From Texas to the rest of America, let’s take testing as seriously as possible.

Virginia Templet is the marketing director at Puritan Medical Products. She wrote this for InsideSources.com.