Columbus measles outbreak swells to 24 cases as 9 kids are hospitalized

COLUMBUS — A measles outbreak first reported last week in Columbus has grown yet again, public health officials are reporting.

The outbreak, which began as four infections before growing to 15, has increased to at least 24 cases at seven child care facilities and two schools, said Kelli Newman, spokeswoman for Columbus Public Health.

All 24 children were unvaccinated for the measles and so far nine have been hospitalized, Newman said. One of the children infected is 6 and the others are all 4 or younger.

Although preventable through vaccination, the measles is considered a dangerous and sometimes deadly disease.

About one in five people in the U.S. who get measles will be hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About one in 1,000 people who contract the measles could develop brain swelling, which could lead to serious brain damage, according to the CDC.

The disease is also highly contagious as around 90% of unvaccinated individuals who are exposed to measles will become infected, according to Columbus Public Health and Franklin County Public Health. Symptoms of the measles include fever, cough, rash, runny nose and red or watery eyes.

The child care facilities notified parents of the outbreak and have removed all unvaccinated children for 21 days since the latest case onset, Newman said earlier this week. As is standard practice, Columbus Public Health is coordinating with the CDC and the Ohio Department of Health as the agency continues to investigate the outbreak, Newman said.

Newman encouraged parents with children who are not vaccinated against the measles to get a shot.

Even one shot can be up to 90% effective at preventing someone from falling ill with the measles, Newman said.

“The measles is a serious disease,” Newman said. “The good news is the vaccine is very effective.”

The latest outbreak brings the total number of measles cases reported in the Columbus area since June to 28. At least five outbreaks had been reported nationwide this year as of Oct. 28, according to the CDC.

Despite the growing number of measles infections in Columbus, the outbreak still falls short of the largest in the last decade.

In 2019, 1,274 cases were reported in 31 states, according to the CDC. Ohio reported one case in Stark County as part of the 2019 outbreak.

The latest outbreak also comes seven years after one that sickened Ohioans in Richland County in 2014.

That outbreak began when an unvaccinated Amish person traveled to the Philippines, a place where more than 20,000 known cases were reported that year. The person unknowingly caught the virus and brought it back to Ohio.