The state Department of Public Health says there is a fourth case of measles in Connecticut for 2019.
The person who contracted the measles is a school-aged child from Fairfield County, according to the Department of Health. They said the child was not infectious while at school.
It appears, according to the Connecticut Department of Public Health, that the child contracted measles in early October.
The latest case of measles is not related to three previously confirmed cases in Connecticut reported in January and April.
“We are monitoring and investigating this case very closely, including working with our local health departments and medical providers to follow up with any individuals that may have been exposed to measles,” Connecticut DPH Commissioner Renée D. Coleman-Mitchell said in a statement. “Science tells us that the single best thing anyone can do to protect themselves from this highly contagious virus is to get vaccinated. Overall, Connecticut has high vaccination rates, so we are at low risk for a widespread measles outbreak. This latest confirmed case, coupled with declining statewide immunization numbers for measles, is exactly why Governor Lamont and I are recommending repeal of non-medical exemptions for vaccination.”
The Connecticut Department of Public Health is working with local health departments and healthcare providers to identify and inform identified contacts of the case.
They said the average incubation period of measles is 14 days, with a range of 7 to21 days.
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Cases are considered infectious from four days before rash onset through four days after. It is possible that secondary cases of measles among some of these contacts may occur, especially among those who have never been vaccinated for measles, according to the Department of Health.
Symptoms of Measles
A typical case of measles begins with mild to moderate fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and sore throat. Three to five days after the start of these symptoms, a red or reddish-brown rash appears, usually starting on a person’s face at the hairline and spreading downward to the entire body. At the time the rash appears, a person’s fever may spike to more than 104 degrees Fahrenheit. The rash typically lasts at least a few days and then disappears in the same order. People with measles may be contagious up to 4 days before the rash appears and for four days after the day the rash appears.
From Jan. 1 to Oct. 1, 2019, 1,249 individual cases of measles have been confirmed in 31 states, according to the Department of Health. This is the largest number of cases reported in the U.S. since measles was eliminated in 2000.
Learn more about measles, here.
Find annual statistics for vaccine preventable diseases in Connecticut here.
