14 April 18 • 2019
jn
P
arents are breathing a sigh of
relief in Ann Arbor.
On April 9, Washtenaw
County reported one confirmed case
of the measles, a child at the Early
Childhood Center at the Jewish
Community Center of Ann Arbor,
one of the first centers in Washtenaw
County to not allow unvaccinated
children in with religious or philo-
sophical waivers.
Peretz Hirshbein, director of child
and family services at the JCC, told
about a dozen families that their chil-
dren who were too young to be vacci-
nated would have to stay home for 21
days for their own safety.
A few days later, on April 11,
Hirshbein issued another email,
informing parents that there was no
measles outbreak after all.
“I just received a call from the
county health department giving me
the news that the child who tested
positive for measles did NOT have
measles,” Hirshbein wrote. “The virus
sample was subjected to genotyping,
and the genetic material was deter-
mined to be a match to that of the
vaccine, NOT the wild virus. This
means that the child had a vaccine
reaction that resembled measles
symptoms and did not in fact have
measles.”
The MMR vaccine contains a weak-
ened live virus that cannot cause mea-
sles but can result in positive lab tests.
Reactions to vaccines can sometimes
resemble the disease itself, but cannot
result in its transmission because the
disease itself is not present.
What this means, Hirshbein wrote,
“There was no measles exposure in
the building, so none of our children
need to be isolated. We look forward
to seeing our babies back as soon as
tomorrow.
“While this was a false alarm, I am
grateful for the zealous protection
of the public’
s health by our county
health department,” he continued.
“We completely understand the
immediate response and need to act
swiftly given the information available
at the time. Had this been a true case
of measles, waiting to act until geno-
typing could have been disastrous.”
The Michigan Department of Health
and Human Services (MDHHS)
and the Washtenaw County Health
Department on April 12 confirmed a
case of measles in Ann Arbor related
to international travel. This case is not
part of the current Michigan outbreak,
which stands at 39 for 2019.
These previously identified sites are
no longer considered exposure loca-
tions, according to MDHHS:
•
JCC of Ann Arbor
• Olive Garden, Ann Arbor
• Liberty Athletic Club, Ann Arbor
• Beaumont Royal Oak ER
• Green Garden Child Development
Center
For a list of Ann Arbor exposure
sites, go to washtenaw.org.
OAKLAND COUNTY UPDATE
The Oakland County Health Division
(OCHD) stated that it continues to
work with schools and daycares to
proactively identify unvaccinated or
under-vaccinated students who are at
greatest risk of contracting measles.
“By Michigan law, all students are
required to be immunized with two
doses of Measles, Mumps, Rubella
(MMR) vaccine or have evidence
of having contracted measles,
” said
OCHD’
s Leigh-Anne Stafford. “School
exclusion policies will be enforced as
necessary to protect the public’
s health.
”
At Derby Middle School in
Birmingham, a student has a confirmed
case of the measles, according to a Free
Press story, which also reported that
Birmingham Public Schools adminis-
trators are following OCHD guidelines
in requiring students who are not vac-
cinated and those who are under-vacci-
nated to stay home from school for 21
days after the date of exposure to try to
limit spread of the disease. ■
jews d
in
the
Ann Arbor JCC
False Alarm for Measles
Outbreak in Ann Arbor
Statewide cases reduced to 39.
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