Laurel County confirmed seven measles cases last week, bringing Kentucky’s total in this current outbreak to 101 confirmed cases.
As of Oct. 12, the state measles dashboard shows that measles cases have been confirmed in Barren (5); Caldwell (3); Carroll (5); Christian (45); Laurel (7); Lewis (2); Owen (2); Todd (1); Trigg(25); Trimble (1); and Washington (5) counties. (Four cases were reported earlier this year in Jessamine County, but are not considered part of this current outbreak.)
Of the 101 cases, all but two of them were in unvaccinated people, according to the state measles dashboard. The dashboard reports that one of the individuals had received one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, and one had received the recommended two-dose series of the vaccine.
Counties that increased last week were Caldwell and Christian, both up one case compared with the prior week; Trigg, up two cases; and Laurel, seeing its first cases in this outbreak.
Tyler Caldwell, co-director of Laurel County Health Department (LCHD), told Spectrum News that all seven cases involve one household.
LCHD reminds Kentuckians on its Facebook Page that the MMR vaccine is the best protection against measles.
As for who is protected, LCHD said, in terms of vaccination status, you should be protected from measles if you were born prior to 1957, you had two MMR vaccination doses, or you have documented measles immunity (IgG+).
The Kentucky Department for Public Health has also confirmed nine hospitalizations in this outbreak, up from seven a week ago.
Measles is a highly contagious respiratory virus that can cause serious health complications, especially in young children. It is spread through the air, where it can remain suspended for up to two hours. One infected person can infect nine out of 10 unprotected people around them.
Early symptoms of measles begin seven to 14 days after exposure and include high fever, cough, runny nose, and red/watery eyes. The characteristic measles rash can appear three to five days after symptoms begin, usually on the face before spreading down to the rest of the body.
A two-dose MMR vaccine is 97% effective against measles, and people of any age can get it. The measles vaccination series is typically given to children at 12 to 15 months and then at 4 to 6 years old.
“The immunization is completely safe and ridiculously well-effective,” Health Secretary Dr. Steven Stack told Spectrum News. ” So I think the key message here is that we really strongly encourage folks to get immunized. Because if you get immunized, you don’t have to worry about this disease. ”
Anyone who is concerned about being exposed to measles is asked to call their provider or local health department to seek guidance on how to proceed. Anyone who has measles should talk to their healthcare provider from home and stay away from other people until their symptoms are resolved.
