Maine child tests positive for measles – state’s 1st case since 2019

The Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that a Maine child has tested positive for measles.

Officials said they were waiting for confirmation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We have notified several facilities where exposures may have occurred and are working with these facilities to notify potentially exposed individuals.

No further information was provided about the child or the child’s condition.

The child tested positive even though he had received the measles vaccine, according to the CDC. You cannot get measles from a vaccine. Maine’s CDC considers children to be infected out of caution.

The MMR vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella) is given in two doses, the first between 12 and 15 months of age and the second between 4 and 6 years of age. Although rare, you can get measles even if you have been vaccinated. The US CDC reports that his one dose of the vaccine provided 93% protection, and two doses provided 97% protection.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people who get measles are vaccinated, tend to have milder cases, and are less likely to transmit the disease.

People who have been in the following locations during the times listed below may have been exposed to measles and have been advised by Maine’s CDC to take precautions.

• April 29th, Family Time Eat & Play at Auburn Mall, 3pm-7pm.

• Clear Choice MD, Scarborough (273 Payne Road), May 1, 1-4pm.

• Hannaford, Cottage Road, South Portland (Mill Creek Hannaford), May 1, 2:00pm – 5:00pm

• Mercy Fore River Emergency Department, May 2, 7:45 p.m.-midnight.

• Mercy Fore River Emergency Department, May 3 from midnight to 3:30 am.

People who are in these places during these hours should be on the lookout for symptoms for 21 days after exposure, the CDC says. People who develop symptoms should call their health care provider for instructions before going to an office or hospital to prevent further spread of the infection. There are no asymptomatic cases of measles.

Most people were vaccinated against measles as children, but those who did not or may not have been vaccinated should speak to their health care providers, the CDC says. .

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10 cases of measles were confirmed in eight states between January 1 and April 28. The last measles outbreak in 2019 was in 31 states, with 1,274 cases, one of which was in Maine. The outbreak was caused by unvaccinated people, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Maine also had a case in 2017, with the previous case in 1997.

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that causes flu-like symptoms and a rash that spreads from the head down. It can lead to pneumonia, encephalitis (swelling of the brain), and death.

The virus is spread through coughing and sneezing, and an infected person can spread the disease from 4 days before to 4 days after the rash appears.The virus can survive on surfaces and in the air for 2 hours.

According to the CDC, the MMR vaccine is the best protection against measles.

Maine eliminated religious and philosophical exemptions for school-required vaccines, including the MMR vaccine, in a 2019 law that went into effect in 2021. A 2020 referendum that sought to repeal the law failed to vote, and people in Maine supported compulsory vaccinations in schools. Attendance with a margin of 73% to 27%.

Maine’s statewide opt-out rate plummeted from a high of about 6% of students entering kindergarten in 2019-20 (including non-medical and medical exemptions) to 2021-22 when the law went into effect. It was 1.8% for the year. Exemptions for medical reasons continue to be granted.

Attempts to repeal the law have resurfaced during the current legislative session, with anti-vaccine advocates debunking conspiracy theories about vaccines at hearings in April. With Democrats controlling Congress and Gov. Janet Mills backing the law, it is expected to withstand attempts to overturn it.

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