Health officials warn of dangers of measles cases downstate

There have been at least 42 cases of measles in the state this year and local public health officials are emphasizing prevention as the key to avoiding the disease.

Officials also stress that while there is no treatment for measles, the disease can be prevented with vaccination.

“Go to sources of reliable information,” Karen DenBesten, infectious diseases physician at McLaren Northern Michigan said. “You don’t have to do your own research on all this.”

Earlier this month, measles grabbed national attention with a current case count of 695 instances across the U.S. That number surpassed the previous high of 667 set in 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The virus has been detected in 22 states and is largely linked to two large outbreaks centered in Orthodox Jewish communities in New York City and its suburbs.

That outbreak then spread to Orthodox communities in Michigan. Measles is highly contagious and causes high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes.

Measles is spread from person to person and through the air. The virus can live for up to two hours in the air where the infected person was present.

Symptoms usually begin seven to 14 days after exposure, but can appear up to 21 days after exposure.

Joshua Meyerson, Health Department of Northwest Michigan medical director, said measles is one of the most contagious illnesses.

“It’s a virus that used to infect mostly everybody, but in the vaccine era we’ve seen a great reduction in the number of cases,” he said.

Meyerson said the illness also develops into a red rash for those infected which starts near the face, then spreads throughout the body.

“Although most everybody would get it and get over it, measles can be very serious,” Meyerson said. “When I started in public health, about 1 million people would die across the world as a result of measles, but that number has gone down to 300,000 last I checked because of vaccination efforts.”

DenBesten said about 1 in 1,000 cases of measles develops into encephalitis which leads into permanent brain injury, deafness, blindness and or pneumonia.

“People can get really sick, yet people are just really dismissive of how severe measles can be, which leads to potentially devastating complications,” DenBesten said.

It’s the hope of both DenBesten and Meyerson to increase vaccination rates locally, which have fallen in recent years.

According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services county quarterly immunization report card, Otsego County ranked 74th (out of 84) in the state for immunizations for 19- to 35-month-olds.

“What they don’t realize is they’re putting their own child at risk, but they’re putting the entire community at risk, especially infants, babies, those who are vulnerable. That’s who’s at risk,” DenBesten said regarding vaccinations.

Patty Dallaire, an infection prevention nurse at McLaren Northern Michigan, said children under 12 months old normally don’t receive the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine.

“But the infant under 12 months, you’re taking them to a day care center and if they’re not vaccinated until 12 months, there’s a high number of children not vaccinated and if there’s measles in the community, all the children under a year old are very vulnerable,” Dallaire said.

“It’s very hard to stop an outbreak,” Dallaire added.

About 3.5 percent of Michigan schoolchildren had vaccination waivers in 2017.

“What we’re trying to achieve with immunization rates is getting the vaccine rates high enough where the whole community is protected,” DenBesten said. “The people who decided to opt out are harming the whole community.”

According to Michigan Department of Health and Human Services numbers on kindergarten immunizations and waivers, private schools in the state tend to have lower vaccination rates.

In 2017, 89.33 percent of private school kindergarten students in the state had vaccinations.

In Otsego County, Otsego Christian School had the highest rate of waivers with 43 percent of kindergarten students being opted out. North Ohio Elementary School, Gaylord St. Mary Cathedral School, Lewiston Elementary School and Vanderbilt Area School each had less than 10 percent for waivers.

South Maple Elementary School had 10 percent and Johannesburg Elementary School also had 10 percent of kindergarten students with waivers, according to MDHHS.

Meyerson said the Health Department of Northwest Michigan encourages people to make sure they’re up to date with their immunizations, as well as their children.

“We’re always routinely looking at immunization rates, we send out notices and send out recalls, we always do that,” Meyerson said. “With measles, we’ve had communication with schools and licensed day care facilities to make sure they know there’s been a measles outbreak and if they haven’t heard about it, what they can do to provide a safe place for their children to be at.”

“We take this very seriously,” Meyerson said. “We don’t want to see any measles cases.”

Meyerson said people born before 1957 are considered immune from measles, but everyone should have one dose of the MMR vaccine.

“If you can’t remember if you’ve gotten one, you can get a measles vaccine, we’ve given measles vaccine to adults who’ve wanted one.”

For more information regarding measles as well as state health department tip sheets on finding records, visit mcir.org. Full vaccination rates of schools and day care facilities can be found at michigan.gov.

Measles facts and fictions

Fact: Measles is a contagious disease which causes high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. A rash of tiny red spots breaks out three to five days after symptoms begin. It also can lead to infection of the lungs (pneumonia) and brain swelling (encephalitis), which may lead to seizures, brain damage, or death.

Myth: Measles is like the common cold.

Fact: There is no treatment for measles, but there is a way to prevent it: the combination measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The MMR vaccine has been available since 1971 and is safe and effective. Two doses of MMR vaccine are approximately 97 percent effective at preventing measles.

Myth: The MRM vaccine leads to autism.

Fact: Every year, measles is brought into the United States by unvaccinated travelers who get measles while they are in other countries. Anyone who is not protected against measles is at risk. About 1 in 4 people in the U.S. who get measles will be hospitalized and 1-2 out of 1,000 people with measles will die, even with the best care.

Myth: There is no longer measles in the United States.