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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed the state’s first case of measles since 2019.
Exams confirmed a baby from Oakland County contracted the virus after touring internationally.
The MDHHS says they’re working intently with the Oakland County Well being Division and don’t consider there have been any further exposures exterior of the kid’s family.
This case is a part of an upswing in instances of a illness that was thought of eradicated for many years after a protected and efficient vaccine was launched, however measles has resurfaced within the final 20 years. The MDHHS recommends everybody a minimum of 12 months outdated take the vaccine to guard themselves and people round them.
“Getting vaccinated is one of the simplest ways to guard ourselves and our family members from potential outbreaks of ailments like measles,” Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical government of the MDHHS, said in a statement. “You will need to ensure that our households are updated on all routine vaccines to stop the unfold of extreme sickness and illness. Now is a good time to verify along with your well being care supplier to be sure you are present with all of your vaccines.”
Measles is a extremely contagious illness that’s unfold by way of the air and thru direct person-to-person contact. The virus can stay for as much as two hours within the air the place the contaminated individual was current.
Signs usually begin inside 7 to 14 days of publicity however can seem as much as three weeks after preliminary publicity.
Signs embody a excessive fever, cough, runny nostril and pink, watery eyes. It additionally comes with a signature rash that’s pink, raised and blotchy. It usually begins on the face earlier than spreading to the torso, legs and arms. The illness generally causes tiny white spots on the within of the mouth two to 3 days after preliminary signs.
In keeping with the MDHHS, roughly one in 5 measles sufferers require hospitalization. In keeping with the CDC, 35 cases have already been reported this yr in 15 different states. There have been 58 instances reported in all of 2023. There was a major spike in instances in 2019, the place 1,274 instances had been confirmed by the CDC.
The MDHHS says vaccination charges have dropped following the COVID-19 pandemic. The MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine price for youths aged 4 to six years outdated has dropped from 89.4% in 2017 to 84% in 2022.
“The measles vaccine is very efficient and really protected. A single dose of measles vaccine is about 93% efficient at stopping measles, whereas two doses are about 97% efficient. Additionally it is efficient if used inside 72 hours of a measles publicity to stop sickness,” the company mentioned in an announcement.
Michigan residents can contact their physician or their native well being division for methods to schedule an appointment to get the vaccine.
