There is a measles outbreak in South Carolina, and incidences of the virus, which may be deadly, are at an all-time high across the US.
The South Carolina Department of Public Health reported on Thursday that a verified epidemic has reached the northern half of the state. This makes a total of eight known cases.
The infection spread to five persons in the last month. According to the DPH, an outbreak is when three or more cases are linked to each other.
The government also noted that everyone who became sick in this outbreak was not vaccinated and did not have immunity.
Dr. Linda Bell, the state’s epidemiologist and chief of the Health Programs Branch, said they still don’t know where two people got measles.
She also said that the department expects to identify more cases and warned persons who have signs of the illness to stay away from others.
Symptoms of measles include a fever, cough, red eyes, and a runny nose. After that, a horrible rash starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body. The rash normally goes away in five or six days.
Measles spreads through the air and can stay there for up to two hours after the person who has it leaves.
In the northern region of South Carolina, there has been an outbreak of measles. The Department of Health has confirmed that there are eight cases in the area.
In the last two years, there have been more than 800 cases of measles in Texas. Many times happened in New Mexico and Arizona as well.
Measles is a highly infectious virus that induces fever, cough, conjunctival injection, and rhinorrhea. After that, a rash starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body. The rash normally goes away in five or six days.
Because measles is so easy to spread, DPH urgently encouraged everyone who had symptoms to remain away from other individuals.
People who have mild early indications can still spread the virus, and people who are sick can be contagious for four days before they even have a rash.
Health officials underlined how crucial it is to get vaccinated to avoid the spread of measles, stating that it is 97 percent effective at stopping the disease.
According to DPH, youngsters should get two shots of the vaccine: one between 1 and 15 months and the other between 4 and 6 years.
Dr. Bell also said, “Getting the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is still the best way to stop the spread of measles.”
“We strongly advise everyone to look over their immunization records and make sure they are up to date on all recommended vaccinations, such as MMR.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that this year there have been 1,544 instances across the country, which is the most in the last 33 years.
Experts say that getting the vaccine is the best way to stop measles outbreaks. In a lot of states, less than 90% of people get vaccinated.
The last time there were more than 1,000 reported cases of measles was in 1992, when 2,126 people had the illness.
In the last 40 years, 1990 saw the most cases of measles, with 27,808 people getting infected.
The World Health Organization claims that a year later, efforts to get rid of measles extended across the US, and kids aged 9 to 15 began taking the vaccine.
Since 1997, there have been less than 200 cases of measles, and in some years, there were even less than 50.
The CDC says that instances have been on the rise in the last few years, and this year alone there have been three confirmed deaths from the disease.
On Wednesday, the Minnesota Department of Health reported that there are 10 more confirmed cases in the state. This brings the total number of sick persons to 18.
In West Texas, there was a significant outbreak earlier this year with 762 confirmed cases, 99 of which needed hospitalization, and two school-aged children died.
The American Academy of Pediatrics put out a statement supporting vaccinations and putting an end to misinformation about possible treatments for the condition.
During the outbreak, some were upset with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for saying that vitamin A and the drugs budesonide and clarithromycin could help people get better from measles.
The American Academy of Pediatrics put an end to the idea by making a fact page that declared, “There is no scientific evidence that inhaled steroids like budesonide or oral antibiotics like clarithromycin are helpful for treating measles.”
“Promoting medications to treat measles, especially when those medications aren’t recommended, makes it seem like the disease is treatable, which it isn’t.”
