By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
OLEAN — One Cattaraugus County resident is in isolation after exposure to someone in Allegany County who has tested positive for measles.
The Allegany County Health Department reported last week one of their residents had tested positive for measles. Recent contacts were advised of the possible exposure and asked whether they had been vaccinated for measles.
Lynn Moore, Cattaraugus County Health Department director of nursing, said the person in isolation in this county was not vaccinated.
“We have no positive measles cases,” Moore told the Board of Health on Wednesday. “We do have an exposure to that positive person (in Allegany County), so they will be isolated. And hopefully, if you are vaccinated, you don’t have to be isolated.”
Moore did not say whether the Cattaraugus County resident was a child or adult, only that they were unvaccinated.
As of Jan. 1, 73.9% of Cattaraugus County residents had been vaccinated with the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine by the time they were two years old. That is below the statewide percentage of vaccinated residents — 80.9%.
By comparison, the percentage in Allegany County is 77.3%, Chautauqua County, 85.6%; Erie County, 86.2% and Wyoming County, 85.2%.
Public Health Director Dr. Kevin Watkins has previously cited the large number of Amish residents in Cattaraugus County drags down the percentage of county residents who are vaccinated. The Amish do not generally vaccinate their children.
The zip code reporting the lowest percentage of vaccinated individuals — 0-50% — was 14726, Conewango Valley, home to a large number of Amish.
Next were 14138, 14719 and 14755 — South Dayton, Cattaraugus and Little Valley respectively — with between 51% and 60% vaccinated.
The next zip codes were between 81% and 90%: 14779 (Salamanca), 14141 (Springville), 14042 (Delevan), 14706 (Allegany), 14760 (Olean) and 14788 (Westons Mills).
Portville was one of several zip codes that did not have a sufficient number of people in the eligible population. The Randolph zip code, 14772, reported a vaccination percentage between 61% and 70%. The Cuba Zip Code which includes areas in Cattaraugus County, reported a vaccination percentage of 71% to 80%.
Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, thanks largely to vaccinations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2,286 measles cases in the U.S. in 2025 — a majority in the Southwest. As of Julky 30, the CDC has reported 2,371 measles cases in 45 states, including New York.
The top states for measles outbreaks this year are: South Carolina, 670 cases; Utah, 520; Texas, 182; Virginia, 177; Florida, 141 and Pennsylvania, 110.
Discover more from Olean Star
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
