CDC to send ‘disease detective’ to help tackle Pennsylvania measles outbreak

State has confirmed six measles-related deaths and county at center of outbreak lacks its own health department

The county at the center of Pennsylvania’s measles outbreak is at a clear disadvantage because, local officials say, it lacks its own health department and it will now get special assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

As of Wednesday, Pennsylvania had confirmed 1,222 measles cases, up from 86 the week before. Six measles-associated deaths have also been confirmed by the state.

The CDC announced on Thursday it would send a scientist – specifically, a “disease detective” – from the agency’s epidemic intelligence service to help tackle Pennsylvania’s growing outbreak.

“CDC will continue working closely with Pennsylvania health officials to provide the expertise and support needed to respond to the outbreak and protect public health,” a CDC spokesperson told NBC News on Thursday.

The spokesperson also added that the CDC director, Dr Erica Schwartz, recommends the MMR vaccine “as the most effective way to prevent measles and protect against infection”.

The network also reported that in addition to the deployment of the “disease detective,” the CDC was releasing nearly $4m to aid the measles response efforts in Pennsylvania.

Lancaster county, the focus of the state’s outbreak with more than 415 confirmed cases as of 9 October, is the largest county in the state to not have its own health department. The plain community, or Amish, who have historically had lower rates of vaccination, make up about 8% of the county’s population.

The Guardian reported earlier this month that the state was bracing for a wave of measles cases, with some public health officials sharing concern that it was “only a matter of time” until the disease spread beyond the outbreak’s center.

The outbreak also comes amid concerns that public health in the US has been hit by growing vaccine skepticism, particularly because of the influence of the controversial health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr . Kennedy has also notably had a public dispute with the Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro, who has lambasted the administration and Kennedy for spreading vaccine misinformation.

“I made very clear that his actions and the rhetoric that’s coming from this administration are having a negative impact on communities across America, particularly right here in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said in August during a briefing to report two measles deaths in his state, their first in three decades.

He continued: “There’s real-life consequences to spreading misinformation. There’s real-life consequences to scaring people.”

Alice Yoder, who was elected to the Lancaster county board of commissioners in 2023 and previously worked as a critical care nurse, told the Guardian that county officials were “very concerned” about the outbreak and that, without its own health department, the county was at a clear disadvantage.

“It’s a lot for our state to handle from a communication standpoint,” Yoder said.