Greene resident contracts measles

A Greene County resident who contracted the measles virus while in Brooklyn has remained there, and there has been no exposure locally, health officials said Monday.

“There are no known potential exposures in Greene County,” the Greene County Health Department said on its website.

A state Department of Health spokeswoman said the Greene County resident, whose name was not provided, “is no longer contagious, and no other measles cases have resulted from contact with this individual.”

There are no known measles cases in Ulster, Dutchess and Columbia counties, she wrote in an email.

U.S. health officials say this year’s count of measles cases has surpassed 800, a growing tally that is already the nation’s highest in 25 years.

A total of 839 cases were reported nationwide as of last week. That’s the most since 1994, when 963 were reported for the entire year.

The high number of current cases is largely linked to the refusal of some parents to get their children vaccinated. In all, 23 states have reported cases this year. The vast majority of the illnesses have been in New York state, mostly among unvaccinated people in Orthodox Jewish communities, especially in Brooklyn.

Last week, most of the 75 new cases were in New York.

Measles symptoms include a blotchy rash; fever; cough; runny nose; red, watery eyes; and a feeling run down and achy.

Complications, which occur in as many as 30 percent of all cases, and especially in people younger than 5 and older than 20, can include pneumonia encephalitis, middle ear infection, diarrhea, seizures, miscarriage and birth defects.

Measles was once common in the U.S. but gradually became rare after a vaccination campaign that started in the 1960s.

Measles protection is part of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR) or measles-mumps-rubella-varicella vaccine (MMRV), which should be given to children when they’re 12 to 15 months old and again when they’re 4 to 6 years old.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.