By: Joseph Mechak, MD

Measles has been all over the news over the past few weeks. Outbreaks in Texas and other states have raised alarms across the country.  As these outbreaks unfold, here are a few important considerations about how measles could impact our area and your child.

Measles basics

• Measles is an airborne respiratory virus.  It is highly contagious with high transmission rates after exposure – even more so than COVID-19. .
• Symptoms typically include high fever, runny nose, watery/red eyes, cough, and a characteristic rash.  In rare cases, it can be fatal from respiratory or neurologic complications of the infection. Symptoms typically started 7-10 days after an exposure.
• Measles is a vaccine preventable disease. Measles has been nearly eradicated from the United States over the past few decades thanks to how well the MMR vaccine works to prevent infection and spread.

How will this affect my child?

• Good news – The MMR vaccine is highly effective at preventing infection with the Measles.  Children are about 93% protected after 1-dose of the vaccine and about 97% protected after 2-doses of the vaccine.  Vaccines are typically given at the 12-month and 4-year visits based on the current CDC vaccine schedule. 
• Good news – We live in a highly vaccinated area.  We at Potomac Pediatrics, along with most pediatric offices in Montgomery and its surrounding counties, believe vaccines are one of the most important things you can do for a child’s health and well being.  So much so that we have made them mandatory in our practice. This has created a great deal of herd immunity in our area which limits the virus’ ability to spread.  The outbreaks in the news now, and similar outbreaks in years past, have occurred in communities with very low vaccination rates.
• Good news – there have been no documented cases in our areas as of the time of this blog post, so risk of exposure is currently very low.

What should I do if I am concerned?

• Remember there are many, many viruses out there that cause the same constellation of fever, cough, rash, and eye redness/discharge.  Given the prevalence of these other viruses compared to measles there is a far greater chance that your child symptoms are caused by a non-measles virus. 

• If you are worried that you have been exposed or have measles, reach out to your pediatrician BEFORE you come to the office.  Given the highly contagious nature of this virus, we will need to consult with the health department and take special precautions in the office if there is a true concern for measles.

• Get vaccinated! The MMR is our best defense against a measles outbreak.  Make sure your child is up to date with their vaccines. If your child is too young to get the vaccine, make sure everyone around them is vaccinated.  If you are traveling to an at risk area, consult with your doctor about receiving your MMR dose 1 or dose 2 early for added protection.

Additional information

• CDC – Measles 
• HealthyChildren.org – Measles
• HealthyChildren.org – How to Protect Your Children During a Measles Outbreak