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FILE: A woman receives a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine at the Rockland County Health Department in Pomona, NY, on Wednesday, March 27, 2019. The County of the North Suburbs New York's state of emergency Tuesday on the heels of a measles outbreak infected more than 150 people since last fall, in hopes that the ban on unvaccinated children in public places makes parents aware of the seriousness of the problem. (AP Photo / Seth Wenig)
On Monday, a man went to the emergency room of UPMC Shadyside where he was diagnosed with measles.
This disease is highly contagious and can stay in the air until two hours after the departure of a sick person. This is why doctors tell people who think they have measles not to go to the emergency department or the doctor's office. Instead, call your family doctor who will tell you the next steps.
"If there is a child contracting measles, we do not want to pass it on to all the other people sitting in the waiting room," said Dr. Sarah Springer, who practices medicine at Kids. More Pediatrics. "So, if you even fear your child has it, it's really important to call."
Measles begins with symptoms such as fever, sore throat and runny nose, before it becomes an inflammation of the eyes and a rash of large redness. The disease is more common outside the United States and can be particularly deadly for children under five.
The data show that the vaccine is most effective if it is administered to a person aged at least one year. Health officials said the best way to protect babies under one year of age was for everyone eligible for measles vaccine. The larger the number of immunized individuals, the less likely the virus is to spread.
"By law, measles should not be seen in the United States (…), it has almost been eliminated," said Dr. David Wolfson, pediatrician of the UPMC. "But in the last ten years, fifteen years, [the] the number of people who do not vaccinate has increased. As a result, there have been epidemic outbreaks, particularly in areas where many people are not vaccinated. "
At the national level, reports from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention report 704 cases of measles this year. It is the highest rate of measles infection in the United States since 1994.
With the recent case of measles in Pittsburgh, some parents have contacted pediatricians to ask if they should have their babies vaccinated before 12 months.
"If we travel abroad, knowing that many cases of measles occur outside the country, we want to protect our children," said Dr. Damien Ternullo, pediatrician of the Allegheny Health Network. "They can get it as early as six months."
Ternullo said this also applies to areas of the United States where measles outbreaks have occurred, such as New York or southeastern Michigan. The county health department said the measles case this week was not related to outbreaks in other states, but had instead been contracted during trips abroad.
This story comes from the WESA partner station, which receives funding from the UPMC and the Allegheny Health Network.
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