WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — School officials in Miami-Dade County have confirmed that a student at Miami Palmetto Senior High School has tested positive for measles. While few details have been released, the student is listed in the 15-to-19-year-old age group.
The confirmation comes as measles cases continue to climb in Texas, where at least 159 people have been diagnosed with the highly contagious virus.
WATCH: Dr. Chad Sanborn warns that measles spreads easily
Dr. Chad Sanborn, a pediatric infectious disease physician with the Palm Beach Health Network, warns that measles spreads easily and requires minimal exposure to infect individuals.
"This is a very contagious virus, and it doesn't need a lot to get on the ground and running," said Dr. Sanborn.
Measles symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose, and a distinctive red, blotchy rash that begins on the face before spreading to the rest of the body. While most people recover, complications can be severe, particularly in young children, leading to pneumonia, brain swelling, and even death.
Sanborn attributes the resurgence of measles to a decline in childhood vaccinations. He notes an increasing number of parents are hesitant about vaccinating their children, leading to delayed or missed immunizations.
"In general, there are a lot of parents who are vaccine hesitant, with delayed schedules of vaccines or no vaccines at all. So that number seems to be increasing as time goes by."
"It seems to have been accelerated post-COVID," he added.
Parents like Paige Langille have opted out of vaccinating most of their children.
"It wasn't something that we felt was a benefit to our kids," Langille said.
Despite these concerns, data from the Florida Department of Health shows that over 90% of Palm Beach County kindergarteners had complete immunization records for the 2023 school year. Other counties in the region report immunization rates between 90 and 97 percent.
However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that national vaccination rates among kindergarteners have been declining in recent years—a trend Sanborn calls concerning.
"Not to scare people, but 1 in 1,000 children who do get measles will unfortunately not survive and may develop severe neurological disease or severe pneumonia," he explained.
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While some parents remain hesitant about vaccinations, others, like Sarah Hartman, see immunization as a necessary precaution.
"My kids and my family, we don't have any of those markers that people are worried about, where they think, 'Oh no, we have an autoimmune disease or other things going on with us,'" Hartman said. "The vaccine might exacerbate that if there's a reaction, but we don't have those risks."
Dr. Sanborn urges parents to review their children's vaccination records, noting that he has also seen an uptick in other vaccine-preventable illnesses.
"If vaccine rates continue to fall, I do get concerned that we're going to see many more cases of these infections here in South Florida."
Currently, there is no specific treatment for measles. Dr. Sanborn recommends hydration, rest, and keeping infected or exposed children away from school to prevent further outbreaks.
