2nd Recent Measles Case In Champaign-Urbana: Health District

CHAMPAIGN, IL — Just over a week after the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) reported a local case of measles, the organization reported a second case on Feb. 2. CUPHD said the two cases are in non-vaccinated individuals. The second case of measles, a highly contagious disease caused by a virus that CUPHD said spreads through the air when an infected person sneezes or coughs, was possibly exposed at the following locations, according to the health district:

• Friday, Jan. 18: McKinley Health Center at the University of Illinois, 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Sunday, Jan. 27 through Thursday, Jan. 31: Maywood Apartment Building at 51 East John Street, Champaign
• Monday, Jan. 28: MTD #22 Bus, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Monday, Jan. 28: University of Illinois School of Social Work, 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
• Tuesday, Jan. 29: University of Illinois School of Social Work, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Thursday, Jan. 31: Carle Hospital Emergency Department, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

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CUPHD provided the following information on measles, including contagiousness, complications and those most at risk:

Contagiousness: Spreads through the air when an infected person sneezes or coughs. It is so contagious that if one person has it, 9 out of 10 people around that person will also become infected if they are not protected. Your child can get measles just by being in a room where a person with measles has been, even up to two hours after that person has left. An infected person can spread measles to others even before knowing he/she has the disease—from four days before developing the measles rash through four days afterward.

Complications: Measles can cause serious complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis (swelling of the brain). Measles is easily spread through the air when someone coughs or sneezes. People can also get sick when they come in contact with mucus or saliva from an infected person.

Not vaccinated?: Most individuals have been vaccinated routinely in childhood (MMR, Measles, Mumps, Rubella vaccine) and are not at high risk. Most people born before 1957 have had measles, and have immunity.

Patch reported in December the CDC said measles is making a comeback worldwide, including in Illinois. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said during the first week of December that 220 cases of measles were confirmed in 26 states and the District of Columbia, and added that measles is spreading in the United States in communities with people who aren't vaccinated.

For more information about measles, CUPHD advises you to contact your health care provider, Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, visit the Illinois Department of Public Health website's measles page at dph.illinois.gov, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website: cdc.gov/measles.

Photo via Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD)