CDC Reports First Confirmed Case Of Measles In Maine

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting Maine's first confirmed case of Measles since 2017.

The affected school-aged child is from Somerset County and was diagnosed on May 20th, 2019. CDC officials say the child was vaccinated, didn't have any serious complications, and has fully recovered.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness caused by a virus. The CDC is asking doctors to encourage their patients to get the MMR vaccine, if their vaccinations are not up to date. In addition, they're asking anyone who thinks they may have been exposed to watch for any signs of the measles rash. Health officials have been working with the family and clinicians to identify residents who may have been exposed to the virus. A list of possible exposure sites and dates has been released by the Maine CDC, as follows:

• Madison Junior High School - From 7a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, Tuesday, April 30th to Friday, May 3rd.
• Madison Junior High School's baseball field - 2:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 2nd and from 7 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 4th.
• Madison Area Memorial High School - 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, April 30th to May 3rd.
• Waterville Pediatrics - 7:50 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. on Thursday, May 2nd.
• Redington-Fairview Emergency Department - 9:30 p.m. to Midnight on Saturday, May 4th, 12:01 a.m. to 2:15 a.m. on Sunday, May 5th, and 2:25 p.m. to 5:25 p.m. on Monday, May 6th.

Anyone who thinks they may have been exposed, should contact their health professional to make sure their MMR vaccination is up-to-date and watch for any symptoms. Anyone showing symptoms should call their doctor's office before showing up, in order to avoid spreading the virus. Find more information on the Maine CDC's website.

Nationally, there have been at least 880 confirmed cases of measles in 24 states. This is the greatest number of measles cases diagnosed since 1994, according to the National Center for Disease Control. (this is based on statistics before Maine's diagnosed case)