A child in north Alabama has measles, the first reported case of the illness since 2002, the Alabama Department of Public Health said on Monday (Aug. 25).
The child is under the age of 5, unvaccinated, and contracted the virus while traveling outside the United States.
Measles is a serious viral respiratory illness that lives in the nose and throat mucus of infected people, according to ADPH. It spreads when people breathe in or have contact with virus-infected fluid and can pass through droplets sprayed into the air when someone with measles sneezes or coughs. Symptoms usually appear seven to 14 days later.
“Measles follows a pattern in which the child first develops fever, cough, runny nose, and watery/red eyes, then a rash develops,” ADPH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Karen Landers said in a written statement. “Persons can start spreading the virus up to four days before symptoms appear, and those with weak immune systems can spread the measles virus longer.”
The child in north Alabama did not attend school or day care, ADPH said.
The Associated Press last month reported that the U.S. is having the worst year for measles in three decades. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,375 confirmed cases in 41 states last week. About 65% of cases have been in people 19 and younger. There have been three deaths, according to the CDC.
The ADPH is encouraging vaccination. Measles vaccines are available at county health departments and pediatricians’ offices. The measles-mumps-rubella vaccine or measles-mumps-rubella-varicella vaccine are typically given when children are 12 to 15 months old and again when they are 4 to 6 years old. The first MMR vaccine can be given to babies as young as 6 months of age if they will be traveling internationally or during an outbreak, according to ADPH. The vaccine is estimated to be 99 percent effective in measles prevention after the second vaccination.
For more information on measles and prevention, visit https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/immunization/measles.html.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Mary Sell and originally published by Alabama Daily News.
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