Authorities have confirmed the first reported case of measles in Georgia since 2012.
The infected infant, who arrived in Atlanta from outside the United States, is being treated at Egleston at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the Georgia Department of Public Health said Monday.
Health officials did not say from where the infected child in Georgia had traveled.
The health agency is working with the hospital and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify anyone who may have been exposed to the child to prevent further spread of the illness.
Measles is highly contagious. It is especially dangerous for infants who cannot be immunized until they are at least six months old and young children who have only received one dose of measles vaccine, according to health officials.
The measles case in Georgia comes at a worrisome time as 17 states have reported cases after the disease had all but been eradicated in the United States.
The number of reported measles cases in the U.S. between Jan. 1 and Feb. 6 rose 18.6 percent, to 121 people in 17 states, the CDC reported Monday.
About 85% of those cases are part of a large, ongoing multi-state outbreak linked to an amusement park in California, the CDC said. On Jan. 23, the CDC issued an advisory to notify public health departments and healthcare facilities about this outbreak and to provide guidance for healthcare providers.
“We don’t need to be alarmists. We need to be aware,” said Patrick O’Neal, M.D., director of Health Protection at the Georgia Department of Public Health. “What happened in Disneyland is an alert that we live in a world now in which international travel is very common and frequent, and diseases are only hours away.”
Measles is not common in the United States, however it is widespread in many parts of the world, including Europe, Africa, and Asia, according to the health officials.
Here’s what you need to know:
— Measles begins with a fever that lasts for a couple of days, followed by a cough, runny nose, and conjunctivitis (pink eye).
— These symptoms are followed by a rash that begins at the hairline, moves to the face and upper neck and then down the body.
— Infected people are usually contagious from about 4 days before their rash starts to 4 days afterwards.
A single case of measles can explode into an outbreak if the virus gets into a population that is susceptible, like groups who have refused vaccination for one reason or another, said Gary Evans, a local infectious disease expert.
“These people may have various social interactions or religious affiliations and measles is highly transmissible once it gets into an unvaccinated population.” Evans said he doubted the disease will spread very far in Georgia, because the vast majority of state residents have been previously vaccinated, creating the “herd immunity” needed to contain an infectious disease.”
For more information about measles and measles vaccine visit www.dph.ga.gov.
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