The Hopkins County Health Department has opened an investigation into a possible measles case.
“The Hopkins County Health Department is currently doing an epidemiological investigation on a potential case of measles,” Hopkins Co. Public Health Director Denise Beach said in a social media post. “This is not confirmed yet, but the medical offices were cleaned and the air cleaned as a precautionary measure. If the lab test is positive for measles we will notify everyone with a possible exposure as soon as we receive a positive lab result.”
Anyone who has received the measles vaccine is at low risk, Beach said.
“However,” she added, “if your child is too young to be vaccinated (under 12 months of age) or you do not vaccinate, then there is risk with a positive measles case, as measles is highly contagious.”
The Mayo Clinic says the following about measles:
Measles, also called rubeola, was once a common childhood illness. It’s caused by a virus that spreads easily through the air and settles on surfaces. A vaccine can prevent measles infection.
Most people recover from measles in about 10 days. It usually doesn’t cause long-term medical issues. But measles can be serious and even deadly. This is especially true for children younger than age 5 and people with severely weakened immune systems.
Measles is treated by managing symptoms and preventing complications.
Get a measles vaccine when recommended to keep the virus from spreading. Because of vaccination, measles hasn’t been common in the United States for more than two decades. Often, measles cases in the U.S. come from outside the country. Outbreaks are more common among people who are not vaccinated.
There is an outbreak of measles in Texas that has sickened 729 people since late January, according to the Texas Health and Human Services (THHS).
Ninety-four of the patients have been hospitalized over the course of the outbreak.
“There have been two fatalities in school-aged children who lived in the west Texas outbreak area. The children were not vaccinated and had no known underlying conditions,” according to THHS.
Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area and the surrounding communities, the agency said.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
