- twalters3109
Many of you have already heard about the current measles outbreak and desire to know more. And for those of you who haven’t heard, there has been a measles outbreak with at least one confirmed case here in Washtenaw County at this time. There have been 39cases reported in Michigan so far, most coming from near-byOakland County and Wayne County.
Measles is a vaccine-preventable disease. Measles can be very dangerous and even life-threatening to those who catch it. It is spread in the air from coughing and sneezing. The virus remains in the air for about two hours. Measles is extremely contagious, particularly to unvaccinated people.
Symptoms of the measles include:
· Fever (up to 104 F)
· Cough
· Runny nose
· Red, watery eyes
· 2-3 days after the first symptoms, tiny white spots may show up in the mouth
· 3-5 days after the first symptoms, the measles rash shows up
With the recent outbreak, we request that you strongly consider getting your child and yourself immunized against measles. This will help prevent measles in the immunized people. It will also help prevent measles in babies too little to be immunized.
Children are usually immunized against measles at 12 months of age with a booster at 4 years of age. With outbreaks, these recommendations change because of the contagiousness of measles and the desire to protect as many children as possible. If there is known exposure or international travel, it is recommended that infants age 6-12 months get their first measles vaccine, and children between the ages of 1 and 4 years old get their second dose of measles vaccine. Without known exposure, it is not yet recommended to immunize your child before the usual time. If you wish, you may request an early measles immunization without a known exposure. However, insurance will not cover the early vaccine without a known exposure. You may then choose to get the vaccine at our office for a fee of $50, or you may get it free at your county health department.
If you desire for your child to get their measles vaccine, please call our office today at 734-572-8686 to set up an appointment.