{"id":274148,"date":"2026-08-28T19:40:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T19:40:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/274148\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T19:40:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T19:40:52","slug":"measles-enters-northampton-county-campus-outbreak-highly-unlikely-the-lafayette","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/274148\/","title":{"rendered":"Measles enters Northampton County, campus outbreak highly unlikely \u2013 The Lafayette"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Measles<\/a> <\/p>\n

Photo by Makenna McCall<\/a> for The Lafayette <\/p>\n

Measles cases in Pennsylvania have surged dramatically this year, per the Pennsylvania Department of Health. (Graphic by Makenna McCall \u201927)<\/p>\n

Two cases of measles have been confirmed this month in the Lehigh Valley \u2014 the first since 2019 \u2014 as Pennsylvania announced<\/a> two measles-related deaths in Lancaster County, the state\u2019s first in 35 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Should Lafayette College students be worried? Probably not, according to Director of Health Services Jodi Schluter.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause community immunity on campus is exceptionally high, the overall risk of a widespread outbreak among students is low,\u201d Schluter wrote in an email, adding that the primary risk of infection is localized to unvaccinated students, who comprise under one percent of the student population. Herd immunity against measles is achieved at a 95% vaccination rate, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Measles, a highly contagious respiratory virus, is spread through airborne droplets when an infected individual coughs, sneezes or talks. It triggers a high fever, flu-like symptoms and a distinctive red, blotchy rash that starts on the face and moves down the body.<\/p>\n

\u201cIncoming students are required to submit proof of two doses of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine or blood titer lab evidence demonstrating immunity,\u201d Schluter wrote. Students can, however, submit religious or medical exemptions.<\/p>\n

The CDC confirmed 2,777 nationwide cases of measles in 2026 as of Aug. 20, the highest figure since 1991.<\/p>\n

Major outbreaks have occurred in South Carolina and throughout the Southwest. Since April, cases have spiked across Pennsylvania, with over 400 infected<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The nationwide increase in cases is attributed to increasing rates of undervaccination as parents choose not to vaccinate their school-age children, according to an analysis<\/a> by the Associated Press.<\/p>\n

Approximately 4.6% of children in grades K-12 are unvaccinated or undervaccinated in Northampton County, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health<\/a>. In Lehigh County, only 2.1% of school-age children are not fully vaccinated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vaccination is the single most effective preventative measure against measles, according to the World Health Organization<\/a>. A full vaccination regimen of two doses of the Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine is 97% effective at preventing infection, per the CDC.<\/p>\n

Bailey Health Center offers MMR vaccination and blood titer testing through partner laboratories for students unsure of their status.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jada Kinney \u201929 contributed reporting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo by Makenna McCall for The Lafayette Measles cases in Pennsylvania have surged dramatically this year, per the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":274149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-274148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}