ZMC Health Department Provides Update on Measles Outbreak

ZANESVILLE, OH- Parts of the state are dealing with a measles outbreak as we head into the holiday season.

Over fifty kids throughout the Columbus and central Ohio area reportedly have the virus, which is spread through infected individuals coughing, sneezing, or even just breathing.

There is no cure for the illness, with babies younger than a year old, children less than five years old, or those not immune through either vaccination or previously having measles, highly susceptible to contracting the virus, which can be very serious, especially for younger kids.

Measles can also be spread before you begin showing any of the tell-tale symptoms, which typically last seven to as long as ten days.

“They’re going to start with a fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, watery eyes. And then the rash will develop and it kind of starts at the head and works its way down to the trunk and limbs,” Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department, Director of Communicable Disease, Tiffany McFee said.

Nearly all the children impacted by the ongoing outbreak were either unvaccinated against measles or only partially vaccinated.

However, doctors reccommend ensuring you and your child are fully vaccinated, with the first dose typically being administerd between 12 to 15 months old and the second between four and six years old, howeveryou can get the vaccine at any age.

“The vaccine is, one dose is 93 percent effective and two doses is 97 percent effective against preventing measles. If you’re sick or you have any kind of symptoms, cough, fever, runny nose, those kind of things, obviously the best thing is to kind of stay away from other individuals, stay at home as much as you can, If you’re children have symptoms, keep them at home. Just kind of monitor them. Contact your physician if symptoms kind of isolate or don’t go away,” McFee advised.

Like any vaccine, you may experience some mild side effects, however, McFee assures it is completely safe to receive and adds the benefits greatly outweigh those risks of remaining unvaccinated.