OCEAN COUNTY – The numbers keep rising.

As of Friday, the Ocean County Health Department said there were 14 confirmed and 10 suspected cases of measles.

Health department officials said they have administered 12,400 doses of the MMR vaccine since the onset of the measles outbreak, mostly centered in Lakewood. Seven public health clinical nurses and four health educators and other department personnel have been dispatched to help in the response.

The Department has also issued numerous orders of isolation and orders of quarantine to protect the public.

β€œThe present measles outbreak is a true public health crisis which warrants the full attention of not only the Ocean County Health Department, but also all medical providers in the outbreak area,” Daniel E. Regenye, Ocean County Public Health Coordinator, said.

Statistics show that up to 30 percent of measles cases can lead to complications like pneumonia, corneal ulceration, brain scarring or death. Infants and pregnant women are very susceptible to complications.

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