Orlando Health has seen four confirmed measles cases at its Central Florida emergency departments within the past month, the hospital system says, but state officials say there is no outbreak in the Orlando area.
One case was in an adult, and three were in children less than 2 years old, said Lisa Maria Garza, a spokesperson for Orlando Health. No other details were released Thursday.
The Florida Department of Health has reported only two measles cases in kids less than 2 years old in 2024, which means at least one measles case treated by Orlando Health this month was not recorded in the state’s public tally.
In total, the state health department is reporting 10 Florida measles cases in 2024 on that website: nine in Broward County residents and one in a Polk County resident. Many of the Broward cases have been linked to community spread at Manatee Bay Elementary in Weston.
Weesam Khoury, a Florida Department of Health spokesperson, declined to discuss specific information about the Orlando Health patients but emphasized that at this time, the state is not aware of any community measles spread in Orlando.
“There is no community outbreak of measles in Orlando,” she said, meaning that any cases identified in Orlando so far are thought to have been contracted somewhere else.
Khoury said when someone receives treatment at a Florida health-care facility, they may not be included in the state’s total if Florida isn’t where they caught the virus.
“Cases of communicable diseases are not classified as a Florida case if they are not residents. If a non-Florida resident gets a communicable disease outside Florida, it is not a Florida case,” Khoury wrote in an emailed statement.
If measles or another communicable disease was identified in an out-of-state resident, that information would be shared with the state where they reside, Khoury added.
Khoury said health care providers are always required by law to report suspected measles cases to their local county health department or the Department’s Bureau of Epidemiology. The department then conducts confidential investigations including contact tracing. Everyone with a possible exposure is notified and monitored.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that as of Friday there have been at least 35 measles cases in 15 states in 2024, most related to international travel.
Thursday’s development is the latest in a saga that has led experts to criticize the Florida Department of Health’s methods and transparency.
Measles, declared eradicated in the United States in 2000, was first reported in a Broward County third grader this year at Manatee Bay Elementary on Feb. 16. Since then, the vaccine-preventable virus has spread throughout the school.
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, the state’s top health official, shared a letter on Feb. 20 telling parents that although the typically recommended protocol is to keep unvaccinated kids home for 21 days, the decision to keep their children home was up to them. That bucked traditional public health guidance and invited criticism from both local and state experts
“This [advice] is contrary to 50 years of really good public health policy,” Dr. Kenneth Alexander, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Nemours Children’s Health in Orlando, previously told the Orlando Sentinel. “We’re leaving up to parents a decision that parents don’t have the toolset to make.”
Measles is extremely infectious but also highly preventable. Vaccination protects against disease transmission 97% of the time, and two shots confer a lifetime of immunity. If an unvaccinated person encounters measles, however, they have an estimated 90% of catching it.
10 measles cases reported in Florida as criticism rises over top health official’s response
Meanwhile, attempts by news outlets, including the Orlando Sentinel and the South Florida Sun Sentinel, to get more information were sometimes met with silence from the Department of Health.
When a travel-related measles case was detected in Polk County last weekend, Florida Department of Health officials did not respond to questions from the Orlando Sentinel about the Polk County case, nor the vaccination status of any of the people infected.
On Wednesday, the Florida Department of Health shared on X (formerly Twitter) a new statement about the Broward outbreak alongside a measles fact sheet.
“While details of epidemiological investigations are confidential, many media outlets are reporting false information and politicizing this outbreak,” the statement begins before sharing more information about the outbreak.
Rachel Carter is a health and wellness expert dedicated to helping readers lead healthier lives. With a background in nutrition, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being.
