Minnesota child with measles visited Mall of America theme park
A nurse gives an MMR vaccine. The vaccine is 97% effective against measles when two doses are administered. (Photo by)
The Minnesota Department of Health has documented two new cases of measles in the Twin Cities area, according to a Monday news release. One case is an unvaccinated Dakota County child who was contagious while visiting Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America on May 24.
The second case is a Washington County adult who was exposed during travel within the United States. Their vaccination status is currently unknown. The child with measles has not traveled recently and does not have known exposures to the illness.
'Anytime we confirm a case of measles unrelated to travel that has no known source it is worrying,' said Jessica Hancock-Allen, infectious disease division director at MDH. 'This is because it could be a sign that measles is spreading in the community undetected by public health and health care systems.'
MDH doesn't yet know where the child was exposed and is working with local health officials to identify others who may have been exposed. These are Minnesota's third and fourth known cases this year. MDH urged those who visited the Mall of America on May 24 to be aware of possible measles symptoms: fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes, and a rash. Measles can lead to hospitalization and even death.
Measles is a highly contagious airborne illness that can stay in the air up to two hours after an infected person leaves the area. After being exposed to measles, a person could be asymptomatic for up to 12 days.
The Minnesota measles cases come during a resurgent time for both the disease and anti-vaccine sentiments — President Donald Trump's Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has expressed conflicting opinions on the safety and effectiveness of vaccinations.
In April, Kennedy traveled to Texas, which is experiencing the largest measles outbreak since 2000. As of May 30, the Texas Department of Health has confirmed 738 cases of the illness since late January.
Two unvaccinated children have died since the outbreak began. Following the visit, Kennedy appeared to endorse the vaccine on social media.
'The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine,' Kennedy said on X.
In an interview with CBS news three days later, however, Kennedy argued that measles cases are inevitable.
'We're always going to have measles, no matter what happens, as the vaccine wanes very quickly,' Kennedy said.
While the measles case count in Minnesota remains low, MDH recommended that Minnesotans get vaccinated and check their immunization records.
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