Measles Case Confirmed In Wake County

WAKE COUNTY, NC — Health officials have received a confirmed case of measles in Wake County and are now warning people who haven't been vaccinated that the disease is highly contagious.

The county received confirmation Saturday that the case was, in fact, measles. A patient showed symptoms of the disease after returning from traveling out of the country, officials said in a release.

People who have received two doses of the measles vaccine, as well as anyone born before 1957, are considered safe from the virus for life, officials said. But people who have not been immunized are at risk.

People may have been exposed to measles at the following locations, dates and times:

• WakeMed Physician Practices in the WakeMed Garner Healthplex (June 8 from 11 a.m. through 3 p.m.)
• WakeMed Raleigh Campus: Children’s Emergency Department, Adult Emergency Department (D-Bay), Chest Pain Unit and Imaging (June 8 from 11 p.m. through June 9 at 7 a.m.)
• WakeMed Raleigh Campus: Children’s Emergency Department, Adult Emergency Department (D-Bay), Chest Pain Unit and Imaging (June 10 from 8:30 p.m. through June 11 at 3 a.m.)
• WakeMed Physician Practices in the WakeMed Garner Healthplex (June 11 from 1 p.m. through 5:30 p.m.)
• Duke University Hospital Emergency Department, Durham (June 13 from 3:30 p.m. through June 14 at 1 a.m.)

Anyone who wasn't properly vaccinated and was at one of the above locations at the specified times should immediately call either the state Communicable Disease Branch at 919-733-3419 or a doctor.

Officials pleaded that such person do not go to a hospital or doctor’s office without calling first so as to avoid putting other patients or medical staff at risk. The doctor will help decide if the individual is immune or make special arrangements to evaluate if they are sick.

Measles is a highly contagious disease and spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Symptoms begin with a fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. These symptoms are followed by a rash that typically appears first on the face, along the hairline or behind the ears, and then spreads to the rest of the body. The symptoms of measles usually appear about seven to 14 days after a person is infected.

People with measles are usually contagious for four days before the rash starts, the day it first appears and the following four days.Common complications include diarrhea and ear infections. Some people may suffer from severe complications, such as pneumonia (infection of the lungs) and encephalitis (swelling of the brain).Infants, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are more at risk of complications from measles.

Two doses of the MMR — measles, mumps and rubella — vaccine are about 97 percent effective at preventing a person from contracting the disease if exposed to it, officials said.

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