The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that as of March 11, 378 cases of measles have been reported in 17 states resulting in two deaths. The majority of the cases have been in unvaccinated children, and 17% have had symptoms severe enough to require hospitalization.
Daviess County Health Department Administrator Kellie Streeter, says local officials are keeping an eye out for measles.
“There is no doubt the numbers are growing nationwide, but there so far, no confirmed cases in Indiana. However, measles is highly contagious. If you put 10 people in a room who are unvaccinated and one of them has measles, it is likely all 10 will wind up infected,” said Streeter. “Two doses of the vaccine are required for kids to go to public schools. Our public school age kids are all good. It is those who choose not to vaccinate that are at the highest risk. There is no doubt that because of the contagion of it that Indiana will see cases.”
“We have been doing education. We are working with Kathy Sullender (county public health nurse) and her team there. We are also working with our Quality Manager Lindsey Fuhs,” said Daviess Community Hospital Vice-president of Nursing Jenna Bedwell. “We have been sending our education information to both our ER and our clinics on what to watch for. We have also put out information on the testing kits available through the health department so we can make sure that the patients who present with symptoms can get tested and treated.”
Daviess County regularly lags behind the rest of Indiana in vaccination rates, and that is adding to concerns about a measles outbreak locally.
“That is why we are working with the Indiana Department of Health because they are offering all of the testing free of charge, so that if we have measles cases, we immediately call them and work in collaboration,” said Bedwell. “There is also a lot of education going on to parents to make certain their children are receiving vaccinations and still addressing the parents’ concerns about the vaccines.”
“Since the pandemic, we have seen a lot of vaccine hesitancy,” said Streeter. “We are seeing more and more individuals bring their children in, so it is getting better. We have to be worried about those who are young and not school age yet.”
Measles, mumps and rubella are lumped together in a single vaccine. Children are recommended to receive their first MMR before the age of three and the second before beginning school.
“We have started our off-site immunization clinics back up. We are also sharing information through our social media, our rural health clinics and our partners at the hospital,” said Streeter. “We work closely with the hospital after the children are born to get them brought in for vaccinations.”
Even with health agencies being proactive and trying to increase vaccinations, especially among young and school age children there is an expectation that measles may well spread into the county.
“With spring break and people traveling, the outbreaks around the country, the infectious nature of measles and our lower vaccination rates, we are in a place where we expect it to show up here,” said Streeter.
The symptoms usually begin with what appears to be a cold, with watery eyes, small white spots inside the mouth and flu-like signs. That is followed by a red, blotchy rash that begins at the hairline and spreads down to the trunk of the body and the arms and legs.