Metro Public Health Department officials and community leaders urged increased vaccination and community outreach to prevent a local measles outbreak, stressing that the disease is highly contagious but vaccine-preventable.

At a public presentation hosted by the Metro Public Health Department, Dr. Shah Kaikai, medical services director and infectious disease specialist, said measles is "highly contagious" and that "9 out of 10 people that are exposed to measles will contract it." She explained that an infected person can be contagious four days before a rash develops and four days after it resolves, and that the virus can remain in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area.

Panelists said there is no cure for measles and clinical care focuses on symptom relief and monitoring for complications. "There is not a cure for measles. We just offer supportive care," Kaikai said. She and other speakers emphasized that prevention through the MMR vaccine is the safest and most effective option.

Why this matters: measles can spread quickly in communities with vaccination rates below the herd-immunity threshold. Kinley Reed, an epidemiologist in the department's emergency preparedness division, said the community needs about 95 percent vaccination coverage to block measles spread. "To achieve herd immunity ... we need 95 percent of our population, our community vaccinated," Reed said. The panel reported Davidson County's measles vaccination rate at about 94.9 percent, just below that threshold.

Panel discussion and community outreach: Jarrah Pashall, a public health nurse at the department's preventive health clinic, described clinic procedures and what patients should expect when they come in for the MMR vaccine: a conversation about the vaccine, side effects and comfort measures for children. She said the department can provide translators in Spanish, Arabic and other languages at its Lentz, East and Woodbine clinics.

Brenda Haywood, a retired teacher, former Metro Council member, former deputy mayor and ordained minister, described outreach efforts during the COVID response that the panel said increased access and trust. Haywood said her team carried out surveys, hosted town halls and brought vaccines into churches and neighborhoods where residents could not travel to centralized sites. She recalled one event at Representative Love's church where nearly 300 people attended.

Reed and other panelists contrasted local coverage with larger outbreaks elsewhere: Northwestern Texas has recorded more than 400 measles cases in the current outbreak, and some communities there have vaccination rates as low as 46 percent. The panel also recalled the 2019 U.S. outbreak tied to unvaccinated travelers and said that, before the vaccine era of the 1960s, the U.S. saw millions of cases annually.

Clinical and operational details: speakers said the MMR vaccine is typically given at about age 1 and a second dose at 4 to 6 years; adults without documented immunity should discuss vaccination with their providers. Pashall said clinics have not seen a large increase in children seeking MMR but have received more adult inquiries from people worried about waning immunity. She noted the department does not provide antibody titer testing at its clinics.

Panelists warned against unproven treatments and noted vitamin A is not a cure in the U.S. context. "Vitamin A is not a treatment or cure for measles," Kaikai said, adding that unnecessary vitamin A intake can cause toxicity.

Preparedness and next steps: Kaikai said the health department has experience responding to outbreaks and maintains partnerships with state, federal and community organizations. "We're confident here at the health department if there was to be some cases of measles that we are prepared, with the different tools that are available to us," she said. Reed urged community leaders and health care providers to continue outreach to raise coverage above 95 percent.

Where to get vaccinated: the panel listed Lentz Public Health Center (2500 Charlotte Avenue), the East Public Health Center (Trinity Lane) and the Woodbine clinic (Oriole Avenue). The presentation closed with a pointer to nashville.gov for further information.