{"id":351673,"date":"2026-03-22T02:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T02:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/351673\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T02:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T02:29:10","slug":"health-officials-warn-of-possible-measles-spike-after-westerville-exposure-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/351673\/","title":{"rendered":"Health officials warn of possible measles spike after Westerville exposure case"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>WESTERVILLE, Ohio (WSYX) \u2014 A recent measles exposure tied to a student returning from spring break has Franklin County public health officials warning families to be on alert as more Central Ohio schools prepare to travel in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Franklin County Public Health officials said they are on high alert after the exposure in Westerville. The county has seen 14 measles cases since the start of the new year.<\/p>\n<p>This is a preventable disease.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Myshika Roberts, health commissioner for Columbus Public Health, said the rise in cases is frustrating. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like we\u2019re going backwards when we really should be going forwards and this is just one disease,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n<p>Otterbein University confirmed the student did not go onto campus during or after spring break. Franklin County Public Health said the student did go to a <a href=\"https:\/\/abc6onyourside.com\/news\/local\/measles-case-confirmed-westerville-cvs-store-s-cleveland-ave-franklin-county-public-health#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CVS on Cleveland Avenue<\/a>, prompting a public health alert.<\/p>\n<p>With more districts and schools across Central Ohio going on vacation in the coming weeks, FCPH is concerned about more infections. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere could be additional cases that are going to be forthcoming,&#8221; said Alexandria Jones, assistant health commissioner and director of prevention and wellness for Franklin County Public Health. &#8220;So, what are those preemptive steps that you can take?\u201d <\/p>\n<p>MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/abc6onyourside.com\/news\/nation-world\/us-measles-cases-surpass-1100-so-far-in-2026-health-experts-warn-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention-outbreak-data-death-highly-contagious-disease-pneumonia-lung-infection-respiratory-encephalitis-brain-swelling-neurologic-complications\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Measles cases surpass 1,100 so far in 2026 as outbreaks spread in US, health experts warn<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Some school leaders are looking to lessons learned from a previous exposure. New Albany Plain Local Schools said that during an exposure last October, the district began contact tracing and shut down the Early Learning Center for cleaning.<\/p>\n<p>Jones noted that measles can linger in the air. \u201cWe know measles is a pathogen that is in the air for up to two hours post-exposure. So, that is a long length of time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>NEW ALBANY&#8217;S EXPOSURE: <a href=\"https:\/\/abc6onyourside.com\/news\/local\/new-albany-plain-local-schools-central-ohio-columbus-health-sick-ill-potential-measles-exposure-risks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New Albany-Plain Local Schools adjust operations due to potential measles exposure risks<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The district said that before anyone could return to the classroom, they had to provide proof they got their MMR vaccines. Superintendent Michael Sawyer urged families to check their records. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes mom or dad still have your baby book? Do you have your vaccine card?\u201d Sawyer said. \u201cAnd if not, go get a single dose of the MMR based upon the recommendation from Franklin County Public Health.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sawyer said the experience changed how the district approaches health issues in schools. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we went to school to be educators, I didn\u2019t go to school to be a health official, but I\u2019ve learned a lot about health related matters based upon what\u2019s happened in our world,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think sharing that information is critical to the success of all students in their safety and welfare.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Health officials warned that measles symptoms, including fever and rash, can develop seven to 21 days after exposure. Anyone who is sick should stay home and immediately contact a health care provider.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WESTERVILLE, Ohio (WSYX) \u2014 A recent measles exposure tied to a student returning from spring break has Franklin&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":351674,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[163,521,85,46],"class_list":["post-351673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=351673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/351674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=351673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=351673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=351673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}