Ave Maria students remain active despite measles outbreak

WINK News continued tracking measles cases in Ave Maria as health officials reported more than 50 cases connected to Ave Maria University.

The Ave Maria Primary Care Clinic says fewer people have been coming in with measles concerns in recent days.

Anthony Musingo, a physician assistant at the clinic, said, "Current Florida Department of Health numbers, as I understand them, is 50 cases."

"This clinic was responsible for 20 positive tests, all restricted to the university population. We’ve seen a drop-off in people who are coming in with concerns about possibly having measles,” said Musingo.

Musingo addressed common questions about the MMR vaccine and how quickly it provides protection after exposure.

"Full immunity, statistically, comes after two weeks of the vaccine vaccination," said Musingo. "But there’s good data to show that getting that vaccination within 72 hours of exposure has a meaningful impact on the illness."

"The most vulnerable are going to be your infants who have not yet received vaccination. If you have an infant who has a known exposure or is in an endemic area, you can do modified vaccination schedules for children under 12 months of age. So you can vaccinate as early as six months," said Musingo.

Another question the clinic addressed was whether vaccinated people could still spread the virus.

"They should not be presumed to be contagious," said Musingo.

On campus, students at Ave Maria University said life remained active despite the outbreak.

Anna Carley, a university student, said, "Campus is still just as energetic as it used to be. The measles has not gotten us down. People are still out and about, hanging out and stuff, even though it was a little bit scary at first with, you know, the quarantining and stuff, but now I think we’re getting right back to where we used to be."

Musingo emphasized that the next couple of weeks were critical due to the virus's incubation period.

"We’re not out of the woods because of the incubation time that the virus holds. We’ve got another 10 to 14 days. I think if we still see things dropping off, then we can all become a lot more relaxed," said Musingo.

Students at Ave Maria University continued attending classes, with online options available when needed. The current number of reported cases is 53.