STEUBENVILLE — While recent reports have shown increases in measles cases in other parts of the country, local health officials say there’s no reason to be overly worried in our area.

“I would say the concerns are marginal, at best,” said Andrew Henry, director of the Jefferson County General Health District. “It’s really dependent on individuals and their level of concern about the outbreaks.”

There are no cases at the moment in Jefferson County, Henry said, and totals from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show low numbers of reported cases across the Tri-State Area. There have been no cases reported in West Virginia, nine cases reported in Ohio and 12 in Pennsylvania, according to the CDC.

“The good news in Ohio and West Virginia is there are low levels — in West Virginia there are zero cases,” said Howard Gamble, director of the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department.

As of Friday, the CDC reported there had been 1,362 confirmed cases of measles in the United States. For 2025, the CDC said, there were a total of 2,284 confirmed cases. Currently, the hot spots in the U.S. are in South Carolina, with 664 cases, Utah with 231 cases and Florida, with 116 cases.

Those numbers are lower than the ones seen during the same period in 2025 — the CDC said Ohio had 40 cases and Pennsylvania had 16 cases. West Virginia was at zero.

Immunization remains critical to keeping those numbers down, the health professionals explained.

According to Dr. Jane Culp, the medical director of the Jefferson County Health District, it was thought that measles had been eradicated from the United States in 2000. As immunization rates have declined, reported cases have increased.

“There are more cases than we have seen in the last couple of years. So far, most of them have been in people who have not been immunized,” she explained. “Some of the highest numbers we are seeing are in populations that have not been immunized.”

According to Culp, immunization remains the best defense.

“If a person has had two shots, they are considered to be immunized,” Culp said. “One immunization has been shown to be 93% effective, and two immunizations are effective in 97% of the population.”

Immunization is one of the reasons why states like West Virginia report low rates.

“Some of the difference can be attributed to the fact that we have a high rate of vaccination for measles. Most of that is attributed to state law, which requires all pupils entering school to be vaccinated or have an exemption,” Gamble explained.

There are more opportunities for getting an exemption in Ohio, he added.

Culp said many of the vaccination numbers are compiled according to kindergarten classes. By the time those children head to school, the goal should be to have a 95% immunization rate, which can reduce the chances of a widespread outbreak.

According to the Hancock County Health Department, 98% of kindergartners in West Virginia for the 2023-24 school year had completed the two-dose measles-mumps-rubella vaccine.

Numbers for West Virginia are not available, but Pennsylvania’s immunization rate for kindergartners entering the 2024-25 school year was 92.4% and Ohio’s rate is 88.3%.

Those numbers are lower than the rates for the 2023-24 school year: West Virginia’s rate for that school year was 98.3% , while Pennsylvania’s rate was 93.5% and Ohio’s rate was 89.2%.

Providers in West Virginia, including those in Hancock County, have continued to provide MMR vaccines for residents, according to Ami Arneault, administrator, and nurse Michelle R. Berneburg of the Hancock County Health Department.

Measles, the health officials explained, remains highly transmittable. That raises some concern with the travel season starting to heart up.

“It’s usually spread by someone who travels to a foreign country and has been exposed,” Culp said. “You can spread measles before you have any symptoms.”

Access to different areas can make a difference, Gamble added.

“Most of West Virginia is a little more isolated than some other states, and you don’t have a lot of international travel,” he said.

That’s not the case if you live in the state’s Northern Panhandle — where there is constant traffic among the state, Ohio and Pennsylvania — or the Eastern Panhandle — where’s there’s traffic among West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania, Gamble said.

“As we progress into the spring, one of the concerns we have is that all of our communities will experience spring break,” Gamble said. “It’s a time for travel, visiting and spring break for the college kids. That usually results in a small spike in respiratory illnesses.”

Immunocompromised individuals may have an increased risk and should be cautious when traveling, Arneault and Berneburg said.

Measles, Gamble added, is not like the flu, where you experience a peak and then the numbers come down.

“We don’t have a measles season — it’s continuous,” he said.

Health officials said they will continue to follow measles.

“It’s something we will keep our eye on, but it is not a disease of great concern,” Henry said. “We might be at a point where it is no longer considered to be eradicated, but, as it stands today, we’re not sounding the alarms.’