Measles cases in the U.S. are climbing and we’re heading into the busy spring break season in Central Florida. Millions of people will use Orlando International Airport, and MCO reports that Saturday is expected to be the busiest day of the spring break travel period when some 200,000 people will move through the terminals.
Cases of measles are rising in outbreaks happening in Texas and New Mexico, and two people died from the disease. Last week, Florida confirmed its first case of the year — a student tested positive at a high school in Miami-Dade public schools.
Measles is highly contagious and can cause severe illness including pneumonia or encephalitis in rare cases where swelling of the brain can lead to permanent damage, blindness, and hearing loss. Many doctors are fighting misinformation about the highly contagious virus and are working to inform people that the MMR vaccine is the most effective way to prevent infections. Chad Neilsen, Director of Infection Prevention for Nemours Children’s Health Florida, joins Engage to discuss the epidemiology of measles.
The CDC reports most of the 222 cases reported as of March 13, 2025, are among children who did not get the MMR vaccine. Dr. Candice Jones is an Orlando Pediatrician with Orange Blossom Family Health. She joins Engage to answer some of the questions she’s getting from her patient’s families.
At this point there are no confirmed cases of measles in Central Florida. Engage reached out to local school districts to see how they monitor for cases and proceed if there is one. We received the following information from Polk County Public Schools media relations staff:
"PCPS works closely with the Florida Department of Health in Polk County. Any case of measles is reported to the state by the child’s medical provider. The DOH’s epidemiology department monitors all reports of measles and would notify the school if a case was identified. That said, if a school was made aware of a potential case, and the DOH had not already reached out to them, the school would reach out to our RNs, who would follow up with the DOH. At that point, the DOH would investigate the veracity of the information. If a case was identified, the DOH and our superintendent would decide the best course of action for the school(s) affected."
We want to hear from you. Did you contract measles as a youth? Were you spared via vaccines? Are you vaccinating your children or are you skeptical about their safety and efficacy? Share with us at Engage@cfpublic.org.
Correction: Engage previously identified Chad Neilsen as "Dr. Chad Neilsen." Neilsen is Nemours' Director of Infection Prevention, he is not an MD.
