Anchorage Health Department officials on June 11 briefed the committee about a single recent measles case and urged vaccination after they reported local immunization coverage below recommended herd-immunity levels.

Kimberly Rash, director of the Anchorage Health Department, and George Conway, the department’s chief medical officer, told the assembly they learned of a minor diagnosed with measles on May 21. Conway said investigators found no known ill contacts and the child had not traveled. The source of exposure was not identified.

Conway described measles as “one of the most communicable diseases we’re aware of” and said two doses of MMR (measles–mumps–rubella) provide strong protection. He said the state’s January vaccination-coverage report shows Anchorage’s MMR coverage at about 81 percent for the kindergarten/childhood series and that some schools have much lower coverage.

Conway told the committee that, because measles is so transmissible, public-health experts generally estimate herd immunity requires roughly 95 percent vaccination coverage to prevent sustained outbreaks. He said Alaska’s coverage, and Anchorage’s, falls short of that level.

The department described its response to the single case as a public-notification and provider-alert campaign and said it conducted a thorough investigation without identifying a source. Conway said immunoglobulin is available as post-exposure prophylaxis for medically fragile people, and that the department can issue health orders that require immunization in response to additional confirmed cases and identified exposures.

When asked whether the diagnosed minor attended an Anchorage school, Conway said the individual was not a school attendee; the department did not release identifying or confidential information.

Ending: Health officials urged vaccination and vigilance and said the department will continue surveillance, provider alerts and public messaging to try to prevent additional cases. They noted that state law currently allows medical and some religious exemptions, and said changes to exemption rules would be a separate policy discussion at the state level.