6 days ago
What a Doctor wants you to know about Measles
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The South Dakota Department of Health has reported the state's first case of measles in 2025.
A man in Meade County developed the infection after traveling internationally.
The most common symptoms of measles start off much like a cold, a cough, a runny nose, and red watery eyes, called conjunctivitis.
'That is accompanied by a fever, which is often very high, up to 104 105 degrees. Several days after those symptoms start, 4 or 5 days, is when the characteristic measles rash usually pops up. It's bright red, it starts at the hairline and works its way down the body,' said Doctor Ashley Sands, an infectious disease expert.
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What makes measles so dangerous is that it can cause pneumonia and encephalitis, which can be fatal. Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases known to man.
To give you an idea of how contagious measles is, if someone in this room had coughed an hour ago. And if I walk through that airspace, I could become infected if I'm not vaccinated.
Dr. Sands says the measles vaccine is very safe and very effective, and has been around since the 1960s.
'We know that with the first dose of measles given around one year of age, that confers around 93 percent immunity, meaning that of 100 people who receive the measles vaccine, 93 will be fully protected for the rest of their lives,' said Dr. Sands.
Most people are vaccinated at 12 months old and receive a second dose at age second dose raises a person's protection from 93 percent to 97 in the rare case of a vaccinated person becoming infected, she says the infection is much less severe and contagious.
If you are unsure if you were vaccinated as a child, doctors suggest talking with your can also check with your doctor or request your immunization records from the South Dakota Department of Health.
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