Measles in Austin, update

Because measles is an evolving situation we will continue to provide updates when it is appropriate to do so. There is now a confirmed case of measles in Austin-Travis County. Austin Public Health reported this news on Friday, Feb 28. The patient is an infant, too young to be vaccinated, who likely acquired measles while traveling internationally with their family. All other family members are vaccinated and they are isolating at home currently. It is not thought to be related to the recent measles outbreak in West Texas. 

But, this is rapidly becoming a situation where many of you have questions on how to best protect your children. We are ordering more MMR vaccine to meet the needs of our families, so we appreciate your understanding in this unusual event.

1. Optimal protection is to have 2 doses of the MMR vaccine. Our patients follow the standard vaccination schedule and we give the first dose at 12 months of age. Routinely, the second dose is given at age 4, but can be given as soon as 28 days after the first. Yes, we are offering the 2nd dose to children 13 months to under 4. Yes, this is a good idea and no extra doses are needed.

2. Babies under 6 months carry passive immunity from their mom’s antibodies. 

3. Babies from 6- under 12 months are the most vulnerable. When there is an outbreak, or international travel is planned (measles is much more common outside of the US), babies in this age group can receive an early dose of MMR. Babies from 6-8.5 months of age, especially, do not mount a robust immune response to the MMR vaccine, which is why the standard recommendation is to administer it between 12-15 months of age. There is also some concern that giving the early dose may reduce the effectiveness of the immune response to future MMR doses. That said, yes, we will offer an early dose to infants from 6-12 months of age, with counseling about benefit and risk particularly for those in the 6-8.5 month age range. These babies will still need 2 additional doses after age one for best protection.

4. Vitamin A supplements. Vitamin A deficiency can worsen the severity of a measles infection. Giving a Vitamin A supplement is not going to prevent measles. Both breastfed and formula fed American infants are rarely Vitamin A deficient, which is more common in developing countries. You are welcome to give your baby a vitamin supplement such as Tri-Vi-Sol, if you want to offer Vitamin A. 

5. In person visits–we will have mask guidelines for staff and for sick patients. We will also be offering more telemedicine visits for patients who have not yet received MMR vaccine whose symptoms are consistent with early measles–fever, runny nose, cough, red watery eyes. The characteristic measles rash comes out about 4 days after all of these other symptoms are present and people are very contagious the whole time. If anyone thinks they have measles, stay home and do a virtual visit! Austin Public Health will be providing more information regarding local testing locations in the coming days so we will keep you updated.