Measles Information Cases in 2019. From January 1 to May 10, 2019, 839 individual cases of measles have been confirmed in 23 states. This is an increase of 75 cases from the previous week. Not to mention this is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1994, and since measles was declared eliminated in 2000.
Yes, people who have been vaccinated can get the measles, but there is only a small chance of this happening. About 3 percent of people who receive two doses of the measles vaccine will get measles. If they come in contact with someone who has the virus, according to the CDC.
SYMPTOMS- Measles Information
The first symptoms of a measles infection are usually a hacking cough, runny nose, high fever, and red eyes. Kids also may have Koplik’s spots (small red spots with blue-white centers) inside the mouth before the rash starts.
If the person has not been vaccinated, measles vaccine may prevent disease if given within 72 hours of exposure. Immune globulin (a blood product containing antibodies to the measles virus) may prevent or lessen the severity of measles if given within six days of exposure.
MEASLES Information VACCINE
CDC considers people who received two doses of measles vaccine as children according to the U.S. vaccination schedule protected for life, and they do not ever need a booster dose. Adults need at least one dose of measles vaccine, unless they have evidence of immunity.
Also a way to tell for sure that a person is protected (immune) is by a blood test. The blood test (called measles IgG) shows whether the body has antibodies to fight off the virus. If enough measles antibodies are present, then the person is said to have laboratory evidence of immunity to measles.
HOW DID THIS OUTBREAK HAPPEN?
Measles is still a common disease in some parts of the world and travelers either bring measles into the U.S. or someone from this country gets measles while traveling and brings it home. Also the disease can spread in a community where a large number of people have not been vaccinated, which the CDC reports is what has occurred.
All 50 states and the District of Columbia require vaccinations for children entering kindergarten, however, all states also provide medical exemptions to these requirements and some states also offer exemptions for religious and philosophical reasons.
TELL ME ABOUT MEASLES
According to the CDC:
- Visit here to see what parents should know.
- Measles is a highly contagious virus that lives in the mucus of an infected person. It can spread to others through coughing and sneezing.
- The measles virus can live for up to two hours in a space where the infected person coughed or sneezed. Additionally, if other people breathe the contaminated air or touch the infected surface, then touch their eyes, noses, or mouths, they can become infected.
ADDITIONAL FACTS
- Measles is so contagious that if one person has it, 90{a4e5bfa404134da9a4e353b1abe594f42eda63d3c24be2ee3b933386e7b2a486} of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected.
- Infected people can spread measles to others from four days before through four days after the rash appears.
- Early symptoms include high fever, a cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. Two or three days later small while spots may appear inside the mouth. Within three to five days the red measles rash breaks out on the face and spreads down the body to the feet. The patient’s fever may go to 104 degrees or higher. In a few days the fever goes down and the rash fades.
- If you have been exposed to measles, call your doctor immediately and let them know. Your doctor can determine if you are immune to measles based on your vaccination record, age, or laboratory evidence, and make special arrangements to evaluate you, if needed, without putting other patients and medical office staff at risk
AM I AT RISK FOR MEASLES?
The CDC considers you protected from measles if you have records showing at least one of the following:
- You received two doses of measles-containing vaccine – applies to children in grades K-12 and adults in a high-risk setting, including students pursuing higher education, healthcare personnel, and international travelers.
- You received one dose of the measles-containing vaccine – applies to a pre-school aged child or adult, not in a high-risk setting.
- Alternatively laboratory confirmed that you had measles at some point in your life.
MORE INFORMATION
- A laboratory confirmed that you are immune to measles.
- You were born before 1957.
- The best protection against measles is the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, which provides long-lasting protection against all strains of measles. Also your child needs two doses of MMR vaccine for best protection – the first dose at 12 through 15 months of age, the second dose 4 through 6 years of age.