PARSONS – A recent multi-state outbreak of measles is causing concern and local health care professionals are asking folks to check shot records and make sure measles vaccines are up-to-date. The outbreak of measles at an amusement park in California has affected 141 individuals in 17 states across the U.S. Tucker County Health Department Administrator James Snyder said that folks need to look at their shot records to assure proper vaccinations have been received.
“Folks born before 1957 should not have any concerns,” Snyder said. “Measles was so widespread then, officials are saying everyone had been exposed. If you have had a laboratory-confirmed case of measles you should be okay. The best thing to do is talk with your family physician to make sure you have been vaccinated.”
Snyder said the Tucker County Health Department has vaccinations for children. “School-aged children should have received two MMR vaccines – one 12 months to 14 months. The second dose should be given when the child is four to six years old.”
“In 1963, it was estimated 3 to 4 million people in the United States got measles every year,” Snyder said. “In 2000, it was declared eliminated in the United States. That meant there was no continuous outbreak. The reason for this was because everyone was being immunized.”
Snyder said in the reason for the recent outbreak is people in other countries are not vaccinated. “Folks travel to other countries and bring it back to the U.S. We are seeing more and more children getting exemptions from immunizations.”
He said in 2014, there were 644 measles cases in the U.S. and in 2013, there were 189. “There are still cases of measles out there. If we can get this outbreak under control, we hope for fewer outbreaks than in 2013.”
Misti Shine, R.N., Infection Control Nurse with Davis Medical Center said DirectCare of Parsons offers MMR vaccinations.
“Measles begins with a fever that increases,” Shine said. “Then the person gets a cough and runny nose and red eyes. After that, a rash breaks out. It can come out 14 days after the initial exposure. Four days before and four days after the rash appears is when folks are the most contagious.”
Shine said those who were born after 1956 who have been vaccinated should have a titer drawn to assure they are still covered. She said DirectCare of Parsons can draw titers to make sure they are still immune to measles.
“Encephalopathy, or swelling of the brain related to measles, can occur later in life,” Shine said. “It doesn’t always happen with the disease. One to three children out of 1,000 who develop measles in the U.S. will die. One to four children out of 1,000 who develop measles will be hospitalized with complications of measles.”
Shine said measles is spread by droplets and 90 percent of those exposed to measles will develop the disease if not immune. “Always cover your cough and practice good hand washing.”
Solena Roberts, PA with St. George Clinic said they offer the MMR vaccine.
“We most routinely vaccinate children, but there have been a few instances when adults had a titer drawn and they are not immune to measles,” Roberts said.
Roberts said she thinks folks are reluctant to vaccinate because preventable illnesses do not seem real to the general public.
“Most of us have never seen these diseases,” Roberts said. “I have heard folks say the measles is not a big deal – that it is just a rash. But children can die from measles. It is a big deal.”
Roberts said in some people, measles is just a rash. “But it can turn into something nasty, and that can happen in perfectly healthy people.”
Measles Facts: (From the CDC)
*From Jan. 1 to Feb. 13, 141 people from 17 U.S. states have been reported as having measles.
*80 percent of those cases are considered to be part of a large, ongoing, multi-state outbreak linked to an amusement park in Southern California. 10 additional cases are part of an unrelated outbreak in Illinois.
*Most of these people were not vaccinated or did not know whether they were vaccinated. A minority of them were vaccinated.
*Ages of those affected range from one month to 70 years.
*Some of these folks required vaccinations.
*Six people brought measles into the U.S. after getting infected in other countries and some of them spread measles to other people in the U.S.
