Health Department: Confirmed Case of Measles in Nearby Cook County
The Kane County Health Department is recommending parents make sure their children are vaccinated against measles — and get the required booster shots — in the wake of the first confirmed measles case in Illinois.
In a note to district health coordinators, the Health Department said the case of measles in suburban Cook County is not related to the highly publicized Disneyland outbreak, but it is important to be aware of the potential dangers.
“It is very important that we identify all potential exposures of a measles case in order to prevent an outbreak in our county,” the Health Department said.
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Nirav Shah confirmed that the suburban Cook County resident became ill in mid-January.
“This case in Illinois is a reminder of the importance of immunizations,” Shah said. “With only 10 cases reported in Illinois over the past five years, many parents may not have experienced the severe illness that can be caused by measles. Immunizations are vital to protect not only each child, but the community as a whole.”
Measles is highly contagious. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 90 percent of un-immunized persons who are in the same room with a measles case will come down with measles.
The Cook County Department of Public Health, with assistance from IDPH, is conducting contact tracing and informing all potential contacts of their possible exposure. Symptoms of measles include fever of 101 degrees or higher, cough, runny nose and red eyes with or without rash.
The good news is that the measles vaccine is highly effective. CDC recommends that children should be vaccinated with MMR vaccine at age 12 to 15 months.
In Illinois, all children from kindergarten and up are required to receive a booster dose when they are between 4 and 6 years old. Children can receive the second dose earlier, as long as it is at least 28 days from the first dose.
Potential exposures in Illinois may have occurred to:
- Patients and visitors at the Northwest Community Hospital emergency room (800 West Central Road, Arlington Heights) from 7 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Jan. 14-15, and from 4 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Jan. 17.
- Customers at the Supermercado Guzman (1611 North Baldwin Road, Palatine) between 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Jan. 12-13.
- Patients and visitors at the Vista Clinic (1585 North Rand Road, Palatine) between 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Jan. 16.
Nationally, measles has now been confirmed in at least 14 states. The disease is especially active on the West Coast, where vaccine exemptions allow large numbers of children to begin school without the immunization protection they need.
Measles infected 481,530 Americans during 1962, one year before a vaccine for the virus was introduced. In 2004, there were just 37 confirmed cases across the country, but rates have been gradually increasing since then. The 23 outbreaks recorded from 27 states during 2014 triggered alarm bells, and the incidence of disease is expected to reach much higher levels this year.
Measles is especially dangerous for infants not old enough to be immunized, and children who have not received vaccine protection. One in 10 measles sufferers will experience ear infections capable of causing permanent hearing loss. Other more dangerous complications include: pneumonia, encephalitis, problems during pregnancy and low-birth-weight deliveries. The virus claimed an average of 500 American lives annually prior to the introduction of measles vaccine.
Measles symptoms include: fever, cough, red eyes, runny nose, and a telltale rash which typically begins on the forehead. The disease is spread through coughing and sneezing. Infected people may be contagious for more than a week, including four days prior to symptom onset. Measles symptoms generally appear a week to 12 days after exposure, but can take up to three weeks before surfacing.
Measles symptoms should be reported to your health care provider. Persons planning international travel should make sure they are adequately protected against measles, which is a serious problem throughout portions of Asia, Europe, Africa, and South America.
For more information about immunizations, please visit www.kanehealth.com/immunizations.htm, www.idph.state.il.us, or www.cdc.gov.
About Measles
Measles is a serious, highly contagious disease caused by a virus. The virus is spread easily through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes or by direct contact with infected nose or throat secretions.
Prior to widespread immunization, measles was common in childhood. In fact, almost everyone born before 1957 has already had measles. Measles usually occurs in preschool-age children who have not had their measles vaccine or in school-age children and young adults who have had only one shot of measles vaccine. Measles occurs primarily in the late winter and early spring.
With effective childhood immunization programs, measles cases in the United States, Canada and other countries have dropped by 99 percent. However, there was a marked increase in measles cases in the United States during 1989-1991. The majority of these cases occurred in non-immunized children, including almost 25 percent of cases in babies younger than 15 months of age. Non-immunized inner-city preschool children were a major contributing factor in this epidemic.
What are the symptoms of measles?
Symptoms of measles include a rash that starts on the face and neck and then spreads, a high fever, runny nose, cough and red, watery eyes. The fever starts about 10 days (range seven to 18 days) after exposure. The rash appears about 14 days after exposure. Infants and adults usually are sicker than children and teenagers.
In the United States, death from measles has occurred at a rate of about two to three per 1,000 cases in recent years. These deaths occur mainly in children younger than 5 years of age, primarily from pneumonia and occasionally from encephalitis. Other complications include ear problems, diarrhea and brain damage.
Should a person with measles stay home?
Measles is very contagious, so stay away from work, school and social activities from the time when symptoms are first noticed until five days after the rash appears.
What is the treatment for measles?
Treatment includes bed rest, lots of fluids and medicine for fever and headache.
Antibiotics do not help – either to cure measles or to prevent it. There are no anti-viral drugs for treating measles.
Measles can be prevented with measles vaccine. The vaccine is recommended for children at 12 months of age. This shot is given as measles, mumps, rubella vaccine. A second shot of measles vaccine, usually MMR, is now required in Illinois for all children kindergarten through 12th grade. Anyone born after Jan. 15, 1957, who has not had at least one dose of measles vaccine after 12 months of age or who has not had the measles should be immunized.
Persons working in health care settings should receive two doses of measles vaccine unless they have had the disease and, therefore, are immune. Women should not get the vaccine if they are already pregnant or if they plan to get pregnant within three months after getting the disease.
Acquired immunity after illness is permanent.
