Do you know if NYS DOH has any plans to send outreach/community health workers to Orange County to engage with folks about MMR vaccination, particularly in the Chasidic communities there where there was a large measles outbreak a few years ago?
I don't know if specific outreach to these communities in response to these 3 cases is starting, but, my guess is that because these communities have experienced big measles outbreaks in New York before (see this paper: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6819a4.htm), that local health departments already have established relationships with them, and will be leaning into those if this turns into an outbreak.
Yes! This would be a good opportunity for wastewater monitoring, especially in communities where access or willingness to test may be limited. Just yesterday a paper was published showing that measles was detected in Houston wastewater. https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308146
In New York, it looks like Nassau county is monitoring for measles in wastewater through Stony Brook University (https://www.nassaucountyny.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=12397), but I don't see any public data. I'm not seeing any other New York counties or cities looking for measles in wastewater currently - measles isn't part of the current state wastewater program.
Because we expect there to be fewer cases of measles than something like the flu or Covid-19, and less virus in the wastewater, the trick will be ensuring that the wastewater test is sensitive enough. The Houston study shows that it is sensitive, so I would expect more communities to start wastewater testing for measles soon! Though I expect that to take some time.
Do you know if NYS DOH has any plans to send outreach/community health workers to Orange County to engage with folks about MMR vaccination, particularly in the Chasidic communities there where there was a large measles outbreak a few years ago?
I don't know if specific outreach to these communities in response to these 3 cases is starting, but, my guess is that because these communities have experienced big measles outbreaks in New York before (see this paper: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6819a4.htm), that local health departments already have established relationships with them, and will be leaning into those if this turns into an outbreak.
I've also seen that some summer camps in surrounding counties are requiring vaccination for kids to attend (https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/hudson-valley/news/2025/05/09/orange-county-measles-cases-outbreak). If this turns into local transmission, I would expect there to be more resources devoted to community outreach, especially culturally appropriate ones.
Any plans/ role for waste water detection here? If so what is a reasonable cost/ scale?
Yes! This would be a good opportunity for wastewater monitoring, especially in communities where access or willingness to test may be limited. Just yesterday a paper was published showing that measles was detected in Houston wastewater. https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308146
In New York, it looks like Nassau county is monitoring for measles in wastewater through Stony Brook University (https://www.nassaucountyny.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=12397), but I don't see any public data. I'm not seeing any other New York counties or cities looking for measles in wastewater currently - measles isn't part of the current state wastewater program.
Because we expect there to be fewer cases of measles than something like the flu or Covid-19, and less virus in the wastewater, the trick will be ensuring that the wastewater test is sensitive enough. The Houston study shows that it is sensitive, so I would expect more communities to start wastewater testing for measles soon! Though I expect that to take some time.