GEORGIA — As summer is quickly approaching, the Georgia Department of Public Health is encouraging parents to ensure their children have been vaccinated for measles.
There have been 58 measles cases reported in the United States so far in 2024 stemming from international travel, the GDPH says. Those cases involved children over the age of 12 months who had not received the MMR vaccine.
In Georgia specifically, there have been two reported cases of measles in 2024. Those people were unvaccinated, from the same family and had traveled outside of the country, officials say.
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Measles, DPH officials say is very contagious and spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The measles virus can stay in the air for up to two hours after an infected person is there so you can become infected by simply being in a room where an infected person once was.
Vaccination is thought to be the safest method against measles. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said children should get their first dose of MMR vaccine between 12-15 months of age and a second dose between 4-6 years old.
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Measles symptoms can appear up to three weeks after contact with the virus. Symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose, and watery eyes, followed by a rash of tiny, red spots that starts at the head and spreads to the rest of the body.
Those affected by the virus are contagious from 4 days before the rash starts through four days afterward. Measles can cause serious complications, especially for babies and young children.
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