Measles is a vaccine-preventable, highly contagious disease. Non-immune individuals should quarantine for 21 days following an exposure. On April 10, 2024, eight adults and 18 international students flew from Atlanta, Georgia to Burlington, Vermont. The Georgia Department of Public Health notified the Vermont Department of Health (VDH) of potential measles exposure after one participant who had not traveled to Vermont tested positive for measles. VDH’s response — including assessing exposed individuals’ measles immunity, providing quarantine guidance for non-immune individuals, and responding when one non-immune traveler developed measles — occurred from April 10 through May 21, 2024.

Objectives

We estimated the cost of this response using self-reported hours worked by VDH staff.

Methods

A Microsoft Forms survey was emailed to 108 staff. Responses were collected from December 2–30, 2024. VDH’s Business Office provided the costs (salary, fringe, and indirect) per person based on response hours. Summary statistics and figures were created using Microsoft Excel.

Results

Of 108 staff who received the survey, 79 (73.1%) responded. Staff worked a total of 4,804 hours, with a median of 42.8 hours per person (Interquartile Range (IQR) 76.1). The first week had the highest reported hours (1,695; 35.3%). The total cost of this response was $502,260 (per person: median $1,605; IQR $8,450).

Conclusion

Responding to this measles exposure required significant resources to prevent further transmission. Public health funding is limited, and staff are pulled from regular activities for emergency responses.