CBS News reports measles spread to at least 3 other states after trip to Florida
CBS News reported measles cases in at least three states — Ohio, Indiana and Louisiana — this year were linked to visits to Florida.
Grant Kemp, deputy press secretary for the Florida Department of Health, said it would be misleading to highlight Florida as the epicenter between the measles cases, citing other states also reporting infections, the article said.
Chicago sees measles outbreak in migrant shelter
A measles outbreak in Chicago’s largest migrant shelter has health officials rushing to vaccinate community members.
As of March 20, the Chicago Department of Public Health had reported 15 cases of measles.
The outbreak is one of the nation’s largest this year. The shelter cases have prompted an outcry over conditions inside crowded migrant shelters. They also sparked a new wave of anti-immigrant rhetoric about foreign people bringing disease.
Officials linked 93% of U.S. cases to international travel.
What is measles?
Measles is a highly contagious virus that can be serious, especially for children under the age of 5, according to the CDC. It’s much more than a little rash and fever.
About 1 in 5 people in the U.S. who get measles will be hospitalized.
1 out of every 1,000 people with measles will develop brain swelling, which could lead to brain damage.
1 to 3 out of 1,000 people with measles will die, even with the best care.
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How infectious is measles?
Measles spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
It is so contagious that if one person has it, up to nine out of 10 people around that person will become infected if they are not protected.
A person can get measles just by being in a room where a person with measles has been, even up to two hours after that person has left.
An infected person can spread measles to others even before knowing he/ she has the disease — from four days before developing the measles rash through four days afterward, according to the CDC.
What are the symptoms of measles?
Seven to 14 days after being infected, the first symptoms appear, including:
high fever (may spike to more than 104°) cough runny nose red, watery eyes
Two to three days after those symptoms appear you may notice tiny white spots known as Koplik spots may appear inside the mouth.
Three to five days after symptoms begin, a rash breaks out. It usually begins as flat red spots that appear on the face at the hairline and spread downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs, and feet.
Small raised bumps may also appear on top of the flat red spots.
The spots may become joined together as they spread from the head to the rest of the body.
When the rash appears, a person’s fever may spike to more than 104°.
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● How can you protect yourself from measles?
The CDC said the best protection against measles is measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. MMR vaccine provides long-lasting protection against all strains of measles.
Children need two doses of MMR vaccine for best protection:
The first dose at 12 through 15 months of age.
The second dose at 4 through 6 years of age.
Contributor: Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today Network