Triad health officials are currently investigating a possible measles case in Guilford County. WXII spoke to a local pediatrician who handled measles cases in his office around 2018. “It's airborne and highly contagious,” Forsyth said. Pediatrician Dr. Kirk Walker. Walker is no stranger to the panic that accompanies measles outbreaks. He handled the case in his own office several years ago. “We had to call everyone in the office within two hours of the patient,” Walker said. “We had to call their families, we had to reach out to all the families here. And if they haven't had the MMR vaccine yet or can't prove they have, they've all had to get the MMR vaccine. “Let's say 100 people are sitting in a waiting room, and someone who has measles even before the rash appears walks through the room and leaves the room.'' said Walker. “Ninety percent of the susceptible people in that room will get infected. That's how contagious it is.” Cases have been spreading rapidly across South Florida in recent days. Here at home, Guilford County Public Health is investigating the possibility of infection. “The problem is that you're contagious for about four days before your symptoms start and for about four days after your symptoms start,” Walker said. “So the majority of symptoms occur when you don't even know you're infected.” As local health leaders investigate the possibility of infection, Guilford County Emergency Services Guilford County EMS spokesperson Scott Mothersbaugh said, “At this time, there are no changes to our daily operations.” “I expect that to change again,” he said. “But we're available if the need arises. The best thing anyone can do is get fully vaccinated,” Walker said. “Vaccines are generally protective if given within 72 hours of exposure,” Walker said. . “But everyone needs to get vaccinated.” Walker said the much lower vaccination rate is definitely not helping in terms of the spread of the disease. In terms of symptoms, measles is accompanied by a rash, high fever, and conjunctivitis. and upper respiratory symptoms.
Triad health officials are currently investigating a possible measles outbreak in Guilford County.
WXII spoke to a local pediatrician who actually handled measles cases in his office around 2018.
“It's airborne and it's highly contagious,” said Dr. Kirk Walker, a pediatrician at Forsyth Children's Hospital.
Walker is no stranger to the panic that accompanies measles outbreaks. He handled the case in his office several years ago.
“We had to call everyone who was in our office within two hours of the patient,” Walker said. “We need to call their families, we need to reach out to all the family members here, and if they haven't had the MMR vaccine yet or can't prove they've had it, we need to make sure that everyone gets their second dose. I had to.”
Because measles remains airborne for long periods of time, it is highly contagious and spreads easily.
“Say you have 100 people sitting in a waiting room and someone with measles, who is contagious before the rash appears, walks through the room and leaves the room,” Walker said. “Ninety percent of the susceptible people in that room will get infected. That's how contagious it is.”
Cases have been rapidly increasing across South Florida recently.
Here at Guilford County Public Health, we are investigating the possible case.
“The problem is that you're contagious for about four days before your symptoms start and for about four days after your symptoms start,” Walker said. “So the majority of symptoms occur when you don't even know you've been exposed.”
Guilford County Emergency Services itself has not changed its procedures as local health leaders investigate the possibility of infection, but officials are aware of the situation and are actively monitoring it.
Scott Mothersbaugh, a spokesman for Guilford County Emergency Medical Services, said, “At this time, there is no change in our daily operations yet, and we do not expect that to change.” “But we are available if the need arises.”
Walker says the best thing everyone can do is to get fully vaccinated.
“Vaccines are generally protective if given within 72 hours of infection,” Walker said. “But everyone needs to be vaccinated.”
Walker said vaccination rates have dropped significantly, which clearly hasn't helped in terms of the spread of the disease.
In terms of symptoms, measles is accompanied by a rash, high fever, conjunctivitis, and upper respiratory symptoms.
