3 days ago
Fighting against the spread of Measles
Rapid City, S.D. (KELO) — An increased number of measles cases is spreading across the country, with one case being reported in Meade County earlier this week.
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The current cases of Measles started from people who have come back to the country from international travels where measles is endemic.
'The virus is taking hold in communities where vaccination rates are low and that's the really tough thing, measles is incredibly contagious. Experts estimate that we need to have a 95% vaccination rate or better in order to prevent outbreaks from taking hold,' Monument Health Pediatrician Dr. Paula Marsland said.
These percentages have dropped to around 90% across the country.
Medical professionals are recommending the MMR vaccine (Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccination), something that has remained the same for the past 50 years.
'It's not hanging out in animals, it's hanging out in humans. And so as we try to eradicate it, the only way to do that is to stop the transmission of human to human. That's why I mentioned previously, it's highly contagious. Measles is three times more contagious than the Flu, than Covid, than Ebola,' Dr. Marsland said.
The last time this many cases happened in the country was back in 2019, when over 1,200 cases were reported for the entire year.
'And then once symptoms show up, folks are infectious from roughly four or five days before the rash starts to four days after the rash starts. So that's a good eight to nine-day period where they are infectious. So certainly if you had somebody with a positive measles case, we'd want them to quarantine until at least four days after the rash started,' Dr. Marsland said.
Currently, there have been over 1,100 cases this year, with over two-thirds being in people ages 19 and younger.
The measles vaccine is typically given between 12-15 months of age with the second dose of MMR given in the range of 4-6 years of age.
If you want to learn more about next steps in preventing measles, talk to your medical professional or find more informaiton here.
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