First Measles Case Confirmed In Alabama

ST. CLAIR COUNTY, AL - Although border states Georgia, Florida and Tennessee have already reported confirmed cases of measles, Alabama had remained unscathed - until Thursday. The Alabama Department of Public Health announced Thursday afternoon that a child in St. Clair County has been diagnosed with the illness.

The ADPH said the child is less than a year old - too young to have been vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control recommends the first dose of the MMR vaccine – measles, mumps and rubella – be given at age 12 to 15 months of age with a second dose between ages 4 through 6.

Dr. Scott Harris, ADPH medical officer, said the child has not been out of the state and was not in daycare. It’s believed the family followed medical advice to self-isolate after the diagnoses, Harris added. WVTM is reporting the child lives in Pell City but that has not been confirmed by ADPH.

Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000 but the highly contagious disease has returned in recent years in communities with low vaccination rates. The number of cases reported this year is already nearly double last year’s count and has surpassed the previous post-elimination high of 667 cases in 2014.