- Ingham County officials have confirmed a case of measles in a 1-year-old girl.
- The Ingham County Health Department is working to notify those exposed and has published a list of exposure sites.
- Video shows the perspective of county officials and an infectious disease expert at MSU about what neighbors should do to protect themselves.
Ingham County officials confirmed a case of measles here in the county—the first since 1994. I spoke with an expert at MSU about the case to find out what neighbors need to know.
Officials have confirmed a case of measles in an Ingham County 1-year-old girl. Dr. Nike Shoyinka with the Ingham County Health Department says the easiest prevention method is vaccination.
"The risk of getting measles is very high if you're not vaccinated at all," Dr. Shoyinka said.
According to the CDC, measles usually begins with a fever, cough, runny nose, and pink eye, and then a rash. And measles can be a serious illness.
"About one in five children require hospitalization for their measles," Dr. Rebecca Schein, an associate professor at MSU who studies infectious diseases, said.
"If you've been vaccinated and you've received at least two doses of the MMR vaccine, or you were born prior to 1957, you're automatically considered immune to measles, and you really don't need to worry," Dr. Schein said.
According to the CDC, children as young as 12 months can receive the vaccine, or as young as six months where there's an outbreak. An outbreak has not been declared in Ingham County, with 1 total case.
The Ingham County Health Department announced the potential exposure sites in this case. They are:
April 4th
- Tractor Supply (W Grand River Ave, Lansing) from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
April 5th
- Okemos Farmer’s Market in Meridian Mall from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Aldi in Okemos from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
April 6th
- Towar Hart Baptist Church in East Lansing from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Went to infant room during service)
- Toscana Restaurant in Lansing from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
April 8th
- MSU Community Music School: 5:30 p.m. – 7:35 p.m. (bathroom)
- University of Michigan Health- Sparrow Lansing ED: 6:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Dr. Schein says anyone who isn't considered immune who found themselves in any of those places on those dates should isolate and monitor for symptoms for 21 days.
"At this point, if you've been exposed, it's been more than six days from your exposure because the last exposures were on the 8th of this month," Dr. Schein said. "And therefore the only thing to do is to remain at home so you don't expose other people and wait to see if you develop symptoms."
Dr. Schein also says if you're not vaccinated and haven't been exposed, getting the shot is easy and accessible at your doctor's office, county health department, or your local pharmacy as long as they provide other vaccines.
Dr. Shoyinka says the county health department is also working on notifying families at the child's school of their potential exposures. She says around 50 students attend the school.
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