Want to know how many measles cases there are in your county this year? What about the recent cases of tuberculosis reported in high schools being limited to one school or spreading to South Florida?
Previously, Florida health surveillance data, which published the number of current cases of each vaccine-preventable disease per county, was removed from the state’s website. State and local health officials did not respond to numerous requests to describe another location on the state health department’s website where information is generally available. The chart was last made available in March after a Miami Palmetto High School student was diagnosed with measles and became the first case in Florida in 2025.
The chart containing current trends in epidemiological diseases has long been relied on epidemiologists and medical professionals for tracking, and includes updates on the outbreak in Florida. This included an update on the outbreak in Florida, including acknowledging the spread of both diseases, leading to public health responses at the time to vaccination and diet.
“They’re not a single person,” said Eileen Marty, an infectious disease expert at Herbert Wasim School of Medicine at Florida International University. “Having good, timely information makes a huge difference in diagnosing the incident early and helping parents make decisions or take action.”
Although real-time case reports of the disease no longer exist, the Florida Department of Health offers a monthly report for March of total cases for four of the more than 50 infectious disease conditions. For illnesses such as measles, leprosy, or monkeypox, county-level data on the state website is only available until 2023.
Parents should now rely on their child’s school to let them know of confirmed cases of measles or diseases that can be prevented with another vaccine. The school must send a letter of notification to the parents of students and staff who may have been exposed. This letter usually includes information about outbreaks, what parents should do if their child is not vaccinated, and how to contact the health department for further guidance.
Of course, illnesses like measles aren’t limited to children, so we cannot rely on schools and rely on the community to protect adults who may not have children or those living in their neighborhoods with school-age children who interact regularly. Health Information Protection Laws also prevent health professionals from sharing information with the community.
“We keep people in the dark. They no longer have the ability to know that disease is circulating,” Marty said. “It’s not just about prevention. The sooner you diagnose something, the more different it will be.”
Measles has been a particularly problematic this year. The US is on track to get its viral diseases, exceeding 1,000 measles cases across 30 jurisdictions. Three children died of illness this year. In addition to the Miami incident reported in high school students this year, Florida experienced nine cases in Broward County in February 2024.
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The lack of surveillance information published in Florida is due to the lack of children being vaccinated.
From 2023-24, only 88.1% of Florida kindergarten children completed the vaccine they needed, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Public health experts recommend vaccination rates of at least 95% for highly contagious diseases like measles to maintain immunity across the community.
Florida is one of the lowest rates in the country. Many students use religious exemptions to opt out of forced vaccinations needed to attend public schools.
New information posted to the Florida Department of Health says, “Communities with a higher percentage of religious exemptions for vaccinations are at higher risk of vaccine-preventable disease transmission.” The website states, “The proportion of children aged 5-17 years is increasing each month.”
“Many Department of Health websites and the people working on them are being demolished,” said Jennifer Takagishi, a professor of pediatrics at the University of South Florida and director of the undergraduate pediatrics. “The number of employees has dropped significantly, making data tracking much more difficult.”
Takahashi said the lack of information makes it challenging for pediatricians. “After a child gets a vaccine-preventable disease, we’re going to have a catch-up, and we’ll look into who else is vulnerable and start offering the vaccine,” she said.
Real-time monitoring, when available, can help pediatricians to allow parents to make informed decisions. “If you know that measles is in the community and make your family aware of it, they realise, ‘Oh, this can actually happen to my kids and my family.” And they may be more willing to get the vaccine,” Takahashi said.
The CDC also deleted some health data from its website. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal health agencies to remove information about adolescent health, infectious diseases, reproductive care and HIV, and directed them to remove unconscious bias and references to diversity, equity and inclusion. Researchers and clinicians said they lost access to the critical data and information needed to study, treat and prevent the disease. A federal judge ordered some of the information to be restored.
The CDC tracks measles cases state by state, but its surveillance only offers that Florida has 1-9 cases this year.
Last month, Fort Lauderdale High School and the federal detention centers in Miami each identified aggressive cases of tuberculosis, a fatal but treatable infectious disease. The Florida Department of Health said tuberculosis testing will be provided to students and school staff who have been identified as potentially in close contact with individuals. However, it is unclear whether there are more cases in South Florida. Florida recorded 681 TB cases in 2024, about 9% more than the previous year, federal data shows. TB case counts for 2025 are not available on federal or state websites.
“What’s going on is that it has a downstream effect,” Takahashi said. “Families don’t have data. Doctors don’t have data. The health system doesn’t have data to keep our community safe.”
