DuPage County health officials announced on Saturday that a county resident tested positive for measles, the first case identified in the county since 2009, amid a national and regional uptick in the highly contagious virus.
The source of the infection is unknown, although the case doesn’t appear to be linked to the migrant shelters in Chicago, the county’s health department said in a news release. The person diagnosed with measles received outpatient medical care, the release stated.
While the department hasn’t identified any exposure locations in DuPage County, they said they are “working diligently with public health partners to identify and notify individuals who may have been exposed to the virus.”
Measles is a serious respiratory infection that’s capable of leading to pneumonia and other complications and can be particularly severe for young children. Common symptoms, which generally appear 10 to 14 days after exposure, include fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat and a rash that starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body, the DCHD said.
It’s transmitted through direct contact with infectious droplets or by airborne spread when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes.
“With an increasing number of measles cases being identified, being up to date with measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccinations is the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones,” said Adam Forker, the executive director of the DuPage County health department.
“Measles is highly contagious but thankfully, the MMR vaccine is effective at preventing measles and remains by far the best protection against measles for people of all ages,” Forker added.
Chicago health officials identified the city’s first measles case in five years last month on the Northwest Side. It was unrelated to asylum-seekers, officials said. The outbreak quickly spread to the city’s largest migrant shelter on the Lower West Side, where nearly 1,900 people lived in close quarters, prompting swift vaccination efforts for migrants. Cases associated with Chicago’s outbreak were also reported in suburban Will and Lake counties.
As of Saturday, Chicago’s total cases for the year tally up to 61, including three cases this week. In about two months, Chicago health officials say they’ve administered more than 13,000 vaccinations to Chicago residents.
Measles cases are nearly double the total for all of last year across the United States.
