Duval County only's measles case this year wasn't acquired locally
- by Valerie Santiago
- in Medical
- — Aug 19, 2018
Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington, and Washington D.C.
Measles is a contagious disease caused by an airborne virus, which spreads through the infected person's cough or sneeze. The first symptoms are a high fever that may spike to 105 degrees, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. While the disease is treatable, the CDC said, one or two out of every 1,000 children who get measles die from complications. The total number of cases that year is the highest number since measles elimination was declared in the USA in 2000.
Health officials are encouraging parents to get the recommended vaccinations for their children. Learn more about measles prevention on the LDH website. That's up substantially from the 118 cases reported in 15 states and the District of Columbia in all of 2017. The U.S. experienced a record number of cases in 2014, with 667 reports across 27 states - the greatest number of cases since the documented elimination of the disease in the U.S.in 2000, the CDC said.
More news: Colorado family struggled with debt before husband's arrestThe CDC said the the MMR vaccine is 97 percent effective at preventing measles.
The CDC believes that measles comes in from countries where Americans frequently travel, such as England, France, Germany, India, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The patient diagnosed with measles did not acquire the illness in Duval County, a spokesperson told First Coast News on Thursday. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says some of those confirmed cases were reported locally.
More news: Chopras to host Priyanka, Nicks engagement bashUnvaccinated people who are exposed to measles may be excluded for up to 21 days from public places like schools are workplaces, where they could infect others.
The source of the infections has not been identified, according to the health department.
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