Child in Maine tests positive for measles, first case in state since 2019
By Celina Tebor and Zoe Sottile, CNN
A child in Maine has tested positive for measles, officials said, marking the first case in the state since 2019.
The child who tested positive had received a dose of the measles vaccine, but the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in a news release Friday that it “is considering the child to be infectious out of an abundance of caution.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends all children get two doses of the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine; the first dose between 12 to 15 months of age and the second between the ages of 4 to 6.
Some people may still get measles if they have received the vaccine, but those individuals typically have a milder version of the illness and are less likely to be contagious, according to the CDC.
The Maine CDC listed several locations where others could have been exposed to measles, including a “Family Time Dine and Play” at a mall and two medical centers between April 29 through May 1. The agency says anyone at the locations should watch for symptoms for 21 days and call a health provider immediately if they experience any symptoms.
Babies and young children are more likely to get “very sick” from measles, the Maine CDC said on its Facebook page.
The agency said it was still waiting for official confirmation of the positive case from the US CDC, according to the news release.
The US CDC said there has been 10 documented cases of measles in eight states so far this year. The case in Maine was the first since 2019, according to the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.
Measles was declared eliminated from the US in 2000, thanks to an intensive vaccination program, according to the US CDC’s website. But vaccination rates in the US have dropped in recent years, sparking new outbreaks. An outbreak that began in November in Ohio sickened 85 children, none of whom were fully vaccinated.
The disease is highly contagious: Up to 90% of unvaccinated people who are exposed to the virus will also become infected, according to the US CDC.
The-CNN-Wire
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