LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services released a statement on Friday morning stating that the confirmed measles cases in Michigan has actually dropped.
41 cases had been reported earlier in the week, but on Friday, the MDHHS said the cases in Michigan were down to 39 after additional testing.
They say that a child in Washtenaw County had been reportedly exposed to measles, and along with a child in Oakland County, had been recently vaccinated.
The symptoms they had, along with initial test results classified them as measles cases.
However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has protocol that requires additional genotype testing. These tests have determined that they were not measles cases.
The other 39 have been genotyped and confirmed.
The MDHHS says that the MMR vaccine contains a weakened "live virus" that cannot cause measles but can result in positive lab test results.
"The MMR vaccine has the potential to cause a mild rash and fever. This is a vaccine reaction, not measles, and the individual is not infectious. Due to the evolving measles outbreak in Southeast Michigan, the local health departments took appropriate steps to limit further spread of measles and responded to protect the public’s health by:
• Promptly alerting the public about potential exposure sites.
• Identifying potential contacts.
• Offering post-exposure protection with either MMR vaccine or immune globulin (IG)."
According to the MDHHS, "IG is safe and well-tolerated and provides effective short-term protection to recipients by giving them antibodies needed to fight off measles. This protection goes away after a few months, so recipients are urged to follow standard vaccination schedules."
The following list of sites that were considered risk areas have also been cleared at this time:
o Jewish Community Center of Ann Arbor
o Olive Garden restaurant in Ann Arbor
o Liberty Athletic Club in Ann Arbor
o Beaumont Royal Oak Emergency Department
o Green Garden Child Development Center
"The measles vaccine is highly effective and very safe. A single dose of measles vaccine protects about 95 percent of children, but after two doses, almost 100 percent are immune."
Michiganders are urged to contact their healthcare provider or local health department about getting vaccinated for measles if they have not been vaccinated. A complete listing of local health departments is available at Malph.org/resources/directory.
Measles is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease that is spread by direct person-to-person contact, and through the air.
- The virus can live for up to two hours in the air where the infected person was present.
- Symptoms of measles usually begin 7-14 days after exposure but can appear up to 21 days after exposure
- Symptoms may include:
• High fever (may spike to over 104˚F).
• Cough.
• Runny nose.
• Red, watery eyes (conjunctivitis).
• Tiny white spots on the inner cheeks, gums, and roof of the mouth (Koplik Spots) 2-3 days after symptoms begin.
• A rash that is red, raised, blotchy; usually starts on face, spreads to trunk, arms, and legs 3-5 days after symptoms begin.
If symptoms develop, residents are urged to call their doctor or emergency room before arriving so they can take precautions to prevent exposure to other individuals.
HELPFUL RESOURCES:
For more information about measles, visit CDC.gov/measles.
For more information about Michigan’s current measles outbreak, visit Michigan.gov/MeaslesOutbreak.
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