Health officials in Milwaukee County are urging parents to make sure their kids are up to date with vaccinations. This comes on the heels of a confirmed case of measles in a 23 month old Franklin resident.
Measles is a highly contagious airborne virus that’s easily spread. Symptoms are similar to a common cold: coughing, a runny nose, a high fever and eventually, a red blotchy rash that starts on the head and spreads to the arms and legs. While health officials aren’t sure how the 23 month old contracted the virus, they do say it could’ve been prevented. Records show the child is up to date with all other vaccinations but never received the one for measles, mumps and rubella. Some fear the vaccine causes autism. Doctor Geof Swain is medical director for the Milwaukee Health Department. He says those concerns are unfounded.
“There’s very good strong solid scientific evidence that MMR vaccine, specifically, and vaccines in general do not cause autism. They don’t cause a number of other things that have been floating around on the internet that people seem to be concerned about,” Swain says.
Health officials say in this case, the child not having the MMR vaccination was simply an oversight. Authorities say they’ve been in touch parents of the children who attend daycare with the infected toddler at centers in Greendale and Greenfield. So far, there have been no other reported cases. But Swain says it’s a wait and see game right now, because it takes between eight and 10 days for symptoms to present. He says at this point, parents just need to be aware because the virus can be fatal.
“Among children with measles, about five percent will develop a pneumonia and about one in 1,000 will develop encephalitis. Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain that can result in deafness or mental retardation. And about one or two cases of measles per thousand will be fatal,” Swain says.
The last time Wisconsin saw a serious outbreak of measles was in 1989. Around 1,600 cases were reported and five people died. Health officials say they expect the toddler to make a full recovery.
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