Health officials are encouraging the community to stay vigilant as the number of measles cases continues to spread in Texas.
Measles is a contagious illness that primarily affects children but can really affect anyone who is unvaccinated or immunocompromised, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose, red and watery eyes and a rash. It can cause serious health complications in children younger than 5 years old.
There have not been any cases of measles reported in Ellis County, but there was one case reported last week in Rockwall. There have been multiple cases reported in several counties in the Texas Panhandle.
Dr. Tyler Smith, medical director of the Emergency Department at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Waxahachie, said it’s important that people take the disease seriously since it can spread so easily.
“It’s one of the most contagious illnesses that we know of, and part of that is because it’s spread by airborne transmission,” Smith said.
He said the virus can live in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours after an infected person has left the area.
“Every infected patient will on average expose 12 to 18 other patients to the disease,” Smith said, “and it has a 90 percent infectivity rate to those who are exposed, meaning nine out of 10 people who are susceptible to the illness, who are exposed to it, will get it.”
He said patients become infected in four to five days before they develop any symptoms.
“So they can spread the measles infection prior to even knowing that they’re sick,” Smith said.
He said the CDC recommends the best strategy for treating the measles is prevention, including getting the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
“The MMR vaccine has been around for decades and has decades of safety studies to back it up,” Smith said.
He said it’s usually offered as part of the normal childhood vaccination series. Children usually get the first dose between 12 and 15 months, followed by a second dose between 4 and 6 years.
Smith said the first dose is usually 93 percent effective at preventing the disease and 97 percent efficacious after the second dose.
“That’s one of the reasons we haven’t seen a ton of measles, because we’ve had really good success at essentially eradicating it in the United States around 2000,” Smith said. “Cases were reduced by 99 percent overall. But since then we’ve seen some of the outbreaks like what we’re seeing in Texas now.
“I think part of that is due to there being areas of people who are unvaccinated against MMR,” Smith said. “We have people who are unable to get the vaccine for various reasons. Infants before 6 months of age can’t receive it. People who are pregnant and people who are immunocompromised don’t receive it. And we have people who have elected not to get the vaccine for various reasons, which can reduce our herd immunity and allow for viruses like measles to spread more easily.”
Smith said in many cases adults don’t know or can’t remember if they received their MMR vaccine. He said individuals can consult with their doctor about checking for immunity, or they can get a dose of the vaccine to be sure.
Smith encourages communication with a physician to make the best choice for them.
“Everyone is going to be paying close attention to it,” Smith said. “So if you have some concerns about someone in your family being exposed or developing symptoms then that’s something they need to reach out to their personal physician to have that discussion. If there has been exposure and testing needs to be done that’s something that can be coordinated with their physician.”
Smith reminds everyone that Baylor Scott & White has a 24/7 virtual care option on its MyBSWHealth app for common, minor illnesses and injuries.
Through a video visit patients can have a live video interaction with an on-call provider. Patient can answer a digital questionnaire and may receive a diagnosis through the eVisit option.
The app is open to all Texans. Text “BETTER” to 88408 to download.
