DuPage County health officials announced Saturday that a county resident has tested positive for measles. This is the first confirmed case in the county since 2009, as the highly contagious virus increases nationally and locally.
The source of the infection is unknown, but the case does not appear to be connected to a migrant shelter in Chicago, the county health department said in a news release. The person diagnosed with measles received outpatient care, the release states.
The department has not identified the location of the infection in DuPage County, but said it is “working diligently with our public health partners to identify and notify individuals who may have been exposed to the virus.”
Measles is a serious respiratory infection that can cause pneumonia and other complications, especially in young children. Common symptoms usually appear 10 to 14 days after exposure and include fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, and a rash that starts on the face and spreads to other parts of the body, DCHD said.
It is transmitted by direct contact with infectious droplets and by airborne transmission when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes.
“With the number of confirmed measles cases on the rise, it's important to keep yourself and your loved ones up to date with your measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination,” DuPage County Health Director Adam Forker said in a statement. “It's the best way to protect people.” Department.
“Measles is highly contagious, but thankfully the MMR vaccine is effective in preventing measles and remains the best protection against measles for people of all ages,” Forker added. Ta.
Chicago health officials confirmed the city's first measles case in five years on the Northwest Side last month. Officials say this is not related to asylum seekers. The outbreak quickly spread to the city's largest immigrant shelter on the Lower West Side, where nearly 1,900 people live in close quarters, prompting a rapid vaccination effort for immigrants. Cases linked to the Chicago outbreak were also reported in suburban Will and Lake counties.
As of Saturday, Chicago's total number of cases this year has reached 61, including three this week. Chicago health officials said they have administered more than 13,000 vaccinations to Chicago residents in about two months.
The number of measles cases in the United States is about twice as high as last year.
