Why 'The Pitt' hits home: Show resonates as fictional measles episode mirrors real life

Locals watching “The Pitt” already have reason to think the Max television series hits close to home with its portrayal of an emergency room in Pittsburgh.

A recent episode also fits in with current events, although tariffs weren’t mentioned. The subject was measles, and whether an ER physician would recognize the disease if they encountered it.

Spoiler alert: younger doctors didn’t recognize the measles when it was presented on the show, but the grizzled Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch did.

Viewers of a certain age may find Robinavitch bears a striking resemblance to Dr. John Carter of “ER” fame. Both are portrayed by Noah Wyle.

The episode is seemingly ripped from the headlines in response to the Texas measles outbreak that’s left two children dead. There have been some cases detected in Pennsylvania as well.

But the episode wasn’t a response to recent news, unless those in the writer’s room were clairvoyant more than a year ago when it was conceived, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh EMS medical director Dr. Sylvia Owusu-Ansah said.

As a consultant for “The Pitt,” Owusu-Ansah would know. “They wrote this a year ago,” she said.

She didn’t offer input on the measles episode for the show, but said the storyline is relevant because diseases like measles, whooping cough and others have been resurgent in part because of vaccine hesitancy.

Until this year’s outbreak placed measles back into the spotlight, it wouldn’t be surprising if a doctor would initially think measles was something else because its symptoms aren’t much different than other diseases.

There have been more than 500 cases reported in Texas since January. The outbreak has been attributed to a Mennonite community in West Texas that has historically lower vaccination rates.

The outbreak prompted a visit from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has historically posited views against vaccination.

In Texas, Kennedy acknowledged the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is the best way to stop the spread of the disease.

In Western Pennsylvania, vaccination rates are right at the 95% threshold that’s required for what’s known as herd immunity, meaning even those who can’t receive the vaccine are protected. That means an outbreak among unvaccinated people is possible in the region, according to Dr. Bill Jenkins, director of the emergency department at Independence Health’s Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant.

In more than 35 years in practice, Jenkins’ only encounter with measles was in residency, he said.

“Very few clinicians have ever seen measles,” said Jenkins.

That doesn’t mean doctors in the region aren’t prepared for potential cases in the region.

“It’s most definitely on everybody’s radar at this point,” Jenkins said.

Back to the situation posed on “The Pitt” — a doctor who hasn’t observed a case of measles might not initially recognize the disease.

“Measles looks like a lot of things,” said Dr. Joe Aracri, chair of pediatrics for the Allegheny Health Network Pediatric Institute.

Aracri remembered a case about 15 years ago when a child was taken to the emergency room after arriving at the airport. It wasn’t formally diagnosed until test results came back.

“Now, everybody is on high alert,” Aracri said. “The key for us is to be aware.”