WAUKESHA, Wis. — The Wisconsin Department of Health Services confirms the first case of measles in the Badger state this year in a resident in Waukesha County.
Health officials at the state level and from the Waukesha County Health and Human Services report the case is related to an adult traveling internationally, and are still working to identify and notify anyone who may have been exposed.
So far, they have not identified any locations where the general public may have been exposed.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, measles is a highly contagious disease that can spread through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes, and can linger in the air for up to two hours after the exposure.
It is so contagious that if one person gets it, up to 90% of the people around them may also become infected if they are not vaccinated.
Symptoms of measles typically appear approximately 10 to 21 days after an exposure, and include:
Runny nose.
High fever (may be greater than 104°F).
Tiredness.
Cough.
Red, watery eyes, or conjunctivitis (“pink eye”).
A red rash with raised bumps that starts at the hairline and moves to the arms and legs three to five days after symptoms begin.
Measles can cause serious health complications, including pneumonia, brain damage, and deafness, and can sometimes become deadly. One in four people who get measles in the United States will be hospitalized.
Health officials say the best prevention for measles is two doses of the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine (MMR), which is 97% effective at preventing the disease.
Wisconsin residents can check if they are vaccinated through the Wisconsin Immunization Registry or contact their health care provider or local health department to see if they or their child has been vaccinated to protect against measles.