The Monongalia County Health Department in West Virginia incurred costs of approximately $15,000 to manage a single case of measles in April, as reported by a health department official. This cost included 15 employees at the health department spending a total of 250 hours on contact tracing efforts. Responding to such outbreaks is not typically something the department can plan for within its budget.
According to health officer Dr. Lee Smith, the emergence of measles cases in the U.S. in recent years is a consequence of waning vaccination rates. The CDC declared measles eradicated in 2000, but now, 24 years later, the return of infectious diseases is becoming a reality. Smith describes this situation as an “unfunded mandate,” as the department is not financially prepared for the unexpected emergence of contagious diseases.
Despite an increase in measles cases nationally in 2024, the case in Monongalia County was the first confirmed instance of the disease in West Virginia since 2009. This serves as a reminder of the importance of vaccination and the potential risks when vaccination rates decline.