What is Montgomery County doing to prevent its lone measles case from spreading?

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Montgomery County is working with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the CDC to identify individuals who may have been exposed to the recent measles case.

Christina Miller, administrator of the county’s Office of Public Health, said the contact tracing efforts have persisted since officials released details about possible infection locations Sunday.

The county’s lone incident comes as Texas fights a growing measles outbreak amid the Trump administration’s massive cuts to the CDC workforce.

“It is deeply concerning because the work they do is absolutely critical in supporting local departments of public health — counties like ours — in serving all of our residents,” Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija said.

CDC staff maintains expertise in various fields that many counties across the country aren’t capable of feasibly duplicating. Collaboration with the federal government, however, gives the counties more time to focus resources on local contact tracing and outreach work.

More than half of Montgomery County’s annual public health budget comes from the CDC, Makhija said. The funding provides flexibility for the county to engage in health emergency preparedness and investigate infectious diseases.

Health care experts are worried mass firings at the CDC could complicate efforts to squash the spread of illnesses.

“While I can’t say immediately today how the cuts and the layoffs are impacting us, there’s no question that we need robust investment in public health infrastructure at the national level that supports everything we do at the local level,” Mahkija said.

Mahkija said Montgomery County needs to have a vaccination rate above 95% if it wants to prevent a serious spread of the disease. The vaccination rate for incoming kindergartners is 95.2%, which is just above that threshold.

“Even though children under the age of one are not typically eligible to be vaccinated, if you and your family are planning to travel, we really encourage families to talk with their healthcare provider about where they’re going, what their travel plans are, and what vaccines might be appropriate for them based on their health condition and where they’re traveling,” Miller said.