Surveillance Webinar: Measles Outbreak and Response-Surveillance Webinar: Measles Outbreak and Response Recording

Video Transcription

Video Summary

This webinar, part of the American College of Preventive Medicine’s National Education Curriculum series on surveillance and environmental health, featured Dr. Marco Tori (South Carolina Department of Public Health) describing South Carolina’s major measles outbreak and the public health response. He reviewed measles history, emphasizing how the highly effective live attenuated vaccine (licensed in 1963) led to U.S. elimination in 2000, but global surges and gaps in vaccination have driven new North American outbreaks, threatening elimination status.<br /><br />Dr. Tori explained measles’ extreme contagiousness (R₀ 12–18), airborne transmission, long incubation (up to ~21 days), and infectious period (4 days before to 4 days after rash). He outlined clinical features (fever, cough/coryza/conjunctivitis, rash progression) and serious complications including pneumonia, encephalitis, and rare SSPE. He also highlighted “immune amnesia,” where measles damages immune memory cells, increasing vulnerability to other infections.<br /><br />The response relied on layered surveillance: mandatory provider reporting, lab PCR/serology monitoring, epi curves and percent-positivity tracking, and newer tools like wastewater surveillance and syndromic monitoring to detect missed transmission as cases waned. Control strategies included isolation, quarantine based on immunity, and targeted vaccination. South Carolina used geographic and risk-based vaccination (including early MMR for infants 6–11 months) and emphasized clear, non-stigmatizing communication and collaboration across local, state, and CDC partners. In Q&A, he stressed respectful counseling for vaccine-hesitant families, acknowledged federal messaging challenges, and noted the importance of global surveillance and travel vaccination.

Keywords

measles outbreak

South Carolina Department of Public Health

Dr. Marco Tori

public health response

MMR vaccine

live attenuated vaccine

measles elimination

surveillance systems

PCR and serology testing

wastewater surveillance

isolation and quarantine

vaccine hesitancy counseling