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Measles infections are ticking up across the United States, and a Florida university has now been flagged as a new cluster, according to local health officials. Ave Maria University, a private Catholic college near Naples in southwest Florida, has confirmed at least 12 positive cases, with three people hospitalized, as state authorities move in to track contacts and help stamp out further spread.
Local reporting by NBC affiliate WBBH in Fort Myers said the first cases on campus were picked up on Jan. 29, after which the Florida Department of Health sent a response team to the university. The team has been tasked with carrying out contact tracing, a public health step used to follow up with people who may have been exposed to an infected person, with the aim of breaking transmission chains.
In a letter seen by NBC News, Dean of Students Daniel Lendman indicated that health authorities believe the infections most likely traced back to a student’s holiday travel from another state, suggesting an imported starting point rather than a locally seeded cluster.
While officials have confirmed at least 12 infections, some students have questioned whether the count fully adds up with what they are seeing around them. Student Josephine Miller, speaking to WBBH, said, “I’m sure there’s a lot more,” adding that friends had told her more people had come down with the sickness.
The Florida cluster is unfolding as measles outbreaks continue to build up elsewhere in the country. Local health agencies have reported cases in at least 17 states so far this year, including confirmed infections linked to international travel at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as a related case at Clemson University in South Carolina.
South Carolina authorities reported on Tuesday that 29 new infections had been identified in recent days, as health concerns also rise around outbreaks in Utah and Arizona, where officials said hundreds more people have been infected.
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