02/13/2025
300 in Atlanta Area Exposed to Measles According to AJC Reports
Infectious disease specialists throughout Georgia have worked rapidly over the past few weeks to respond to a measles outbreak in the metro Atlanta area, said the Gwinnett, Newton, and Rockdale Public Health Departments.
At the Gwinnett County Board of Health meeting Monday, epidemiology program manager Keisha Francis-Christian provided more information about how local health agencies have responded to the outbreak involving three members of the same family who were not vaccinated against measles. She told the board members that the first person to test positive, announced by the Georgia Department of Public Health in late January, sought health care at three locations before quarantining.
As a result of those visits, Francis-Christian and other epidemiologists have identified more than 300 people who were exposed to the contagious person. She said residents in more than 20 counties have been impacted by the investigation, including at least 114 in Gwinnett County. Francis-Christian said public health workers have tried to reach out to all 300-plus and have successfully made contact with most of them.
“We’re following them,” she said at the meeting. “For 21 days, they have to report their symptoms to us. If they don’t report, we’re calling them.”
GNR Public Health and other Georgia health departments have not found anyone with measles outside the initial family.
In Gwinnett County, clinicians administered preventive measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations to nine people. If received within three days of exposure, the vaccine can help prevent infections in patients who weren’t immunized against the disease. Additionally, an infant and a pregnant woman in Gwinnett were treated with antibody medications designed to bolster the immune system against measles.
To try to contain the spread of the highly contagious disease, Francis-Christian said GNR Public Health and its partners have been helping exposed residents seven days a week. She said the agency’s epidemiology team alone worked about 100 hours on the weekend after the state health department identified the first measles case.
“It’s a lot of work, but everyone’s all on board,” she said. “It’s a really, really great team.”
Allen Siegler is a reporter covering public health in Atlanta for Healthbeat. Contact Allen at [email protected].
