The measles outbreak in Florida continues to escalate with an additional confirmed case in a child from Broward County and a new infection surfacing in Central Florida. According to health officials in Broward announced earlier today, this marks the eighth diagnosis within the county, including one involving a child under the age of five. The connection of the youngest measles patient to Manatee Bay Elementary School in Weston, where the majority of cases have been discovered, remains unclear. NBC News previously reported that a spread beyond school-aged children was anticipated.

With infectious diseases, it's typically a straight shot to contain their spread - identify and isolate cases. However, Florida's approach seems to differ. The state's Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, controversially opted to give parents the choice to either quarantine their children or allow them to continue attending school. Infectious disease experts warn this choice could lead to quickly facilitate the virus's spread. Dr. David Kimberlin, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told NBC News, "Measles is the most infectious pathogen in humans that we know of... It will find the people who are not immune, and they're going to get sick."

Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported at least 35 measles cases across 15 states in 2024 thus far, many of which are tied to international travel. This outbreak is the largest in the country right now, casting a spotlight on Florida's health officials' actions. According to the Miami Herald on X, Michigan's health department also identified a measles case on Friday, the state's first since 2019.

Measles outbreak update: Another child in Broward, and an infection in Central Florida https://t.co/BDdFyzJpAM

— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) February 26, 2024

Comparing this approach to the one taken during Ohio's outbreak in 2022 highlights the importance of public health guidance. Dr. Mysheika Roberts, Columbus, Ohio Health Commissioner, strongly advocated for vaccination and isolation, which subsequently controlled their outbreak within three months. "We were very clear with what we needed to do to try to control this outbreak," Roberts stated, a strategy that included keeping unvaccinated children, who might have been exposed, out of schools and public spaces for 21 days. Roberts's approach strongly suggested families comply with suggested quarantines, without leaving these critical public health decisions up to parents.

In Broward County, a stark contrast emerges as of the 1,067 students at Manatee Bay Elementary, 33 remain unvaccinated. This comes at a time when national vaccine exemptions have reached an all-time high. Maria Caballero, a parent of a student at Manatee Bay and the mother of twin baby boys too young for the MMR vaccination, told NBC News that she's keeping her daughter out of school out of concern she might contract the virus and bring it home. With vaccine exemptions in Florida on the rise, experts like Dr. Kimberlin are expressing concern that "more and more people are questioning vaccines and why people need vaccines." The implication is clear: as preventive measures decrease, outbreaks such as this are an ominous foreshadowing of potential public health crises to come.