CDC sending a ‘disease detective' to help stop measles outbreak in Pennsylvania

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sending one of its scientists to Pennsylvania to help curb the state’s growing measles outbreak, a CDC spokesperson said Thursday. That person, a “disease detective” within the agency’s Epidemic Intelligence Service, is scheduled to arrive later this week.

It’s the CDC’s first in-person assistance to the state after a social media feud in August between Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. The two traded jabs following a press briefing where Shapiro announced that two unvaccinated people had died of measles complications and accused Kennedy of 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 during the briefing.

Kennedy then suggested that the deaths may have been “fabricated,” and that Shapiro was seeking to profit from them politically.

Since August, six people diagnosed with measles have died in Pennsylvania, according to health officials and county coroners. The CDC has acknowledged two of the deaths on its measles outbreak website, saying the other measles-related deaths in Pennsylvania are “under review.”

“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 wrote in an email Thursday, adding that director Dr. Erica Schwartz recommends the MMR vaccine “as the most effective way to prevent measles and protect against infection.”

Dr. Diego Hijano, a pediatric infectious disease expert from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, answers your questions on how the MMR vaccine can protect your kids from the measles.

Pennsylvania is experiencing the nation’s worst measles outbreak in 30 years, with at least 1,222 confirmed cases and 225 hospitalizations, although doctors say the actual number of illnesses is likely much higher. The outbreak’s epicenter remains in Lancaster County, but is spreading across the state.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the CDC aid.

The CDC team has previously sent teams to other states with large clusters of measles illnesses: Kansas, New Mexico, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. Such deployments are usually short -term, about one to three weeks. They’re meant to help mobilize and streamline outbreak containment efforts.

In addition to the deployment, the CDC is releasing nearly $4 million to aid the measles response efforts in Pennsylvania.