More than 100 people across the country have been diagnosed with measles after a patron at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. spread the disease to dozens at the park. But while the number of vaccination exemptions for children entering public schools has increased significantly in recent years, health care experts say an outbreak of the disease locally is unlikely.

Measles is a highly contagious, potentially fatal virus with symptoms of fever, rash, cough and runny nose. The MMR (measles, mumps rubella) vaccine is required by the state of Connecticut for children entering public schools unless they receive an exemption for either medical or religious reasons.

According to the state Department of Public Health, the number of children entering school with medical exemptions increased from .15 percent to .26 percent between 2003 and 2013. Over the same period children exempted for religious reasons quadrupled from .33 percent to 1.2 percent. In 2013 alone, a total of 1,246 children went unvaccinated for either medical or religious reasons.

While there have been no cases of measles in the state this year to date, five cases were reported in 2014, more than the previous 10 years combined. The last serious outbreak of the disease was between 1989 and 1991 when over 350 cases were reported.

Chief medical officer and family doctor for Community Health Centers Inc. Veena Channamsetty said the recent outbreak nationally is because patients or their parents are voluntarily forgoing vaccination.

For us to see this outbreak right now is due to the decrease in vaccinations, usually because of patients declining, Channamsetty said. Its usually a misplaced personal belief, they feel maybe I dont need the vaccine, or they feel what if the vaccine harms me? or if everyone else is vaccinated around me I dont need it, and the consequences of that is a disease that was essentially gone is now outbreaking.

In Meriden, 100 percent of students in the public schools were vaccinated in 2013 for measles according to Public Health Nursing Administrator Stephanie Geremia, compared to 98.8 percent of kids in the state. In Wallingford, 99 percent of students attending public schools were vaccinated. Data was not readily available for Southington and Cheshire.

Dr. Philip Brewer, director of Health Services at Quinnipiac University, said he thinks a widespread outbreak is unlikely because of high local vaccination rates.

I wouldnt be surprised to have a case or two in Connecticut but luckily we have a pretty good vaccination rate, he said. Its low enough that a case may become a small cluster of cases but its very unlikely to become an epidemic.

Although an outbreak is unlikely locally, the disease should not be taken lightly, Brewer said, because worldwide 150,000 still die annually from measles.

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Health care experts: Local measles outbreak unlikely