Are you protected? Here’s what the CDC says about measles, which is spreading in Texas – KHOU.com
WASHINGTON D.C., DC — As measles continues to spread across Texas, there are things you should know about the condition. Below are questions and answers from the Centers for Disease Control as well as a lot of bullet points about vaccination, including how to find your vaccination records if you’re not sure.This is only some of the information from the CDC. You can find a lot more on their page about measles.According to the CDC, you are protected if you have records showing at least one of the following.If you are an international traveler, the CDC considers you protected if you have records of at least one of the following:No. The CDC considers people who received two doses of measles as a child protected for life. If you’re not sure, check with your healthcare provider.What if you only received one dose of measles vaccine as a child?According to the CDC, if you were born after 1957, one dose is considered sufficient to be considered protected from measles. Some adults may need a second dose. The CDC says adults who are going to be in high-risk settings for transmission should make sure they’ve had two doses at least 28 days apart.Those high-risk adults, according to the CDC, are:According to the CDC, symptoms usually begin seven to 14 days after infection. They can be dangerous, especially to babies and young children. You should contact your health provider immediately if you think you or a family member has been infected.Symptoms include:The CDC says two to three days after symptoms begin, you may notice two white spots (Koplik spots) inside the mouth. Three to five days after symptoms appear, a measles rash may appear. It usually starts as flat red spots that appear on the face and hairline and spread downward to the neck, arms, legs and feet. Small raised bumps may also appear on top of the flat red spots. Spots may become joined together as they spread. The rash could come with a fever spiking up to 104 degrees.According to the CDC, around one in five unvaccinated people in the U.S. who get measles are hospitalized.One in 20 children with measles gets pneumonia. One child in every 1,000 who gets measles will develop encephalitis, which is swelling of the brain. That could leave a child becoming deaf or with intellectual disabilities.Nearly one to three of every 1,000 children who get measles will die from respiratory or neurological complications.For pregnant women who have not had the MMR vaccine, measles could cause premature birth or a baby with a low birth weight.Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is extremely rare, according to the CDC, but can be deadly. It is a condition that results from a measles infection that happened earlier in life. It could show up seven to 10 years after a person has measles, even if the person fully recovered. The risk may be higher for people who had measles before the age of 2.According to the Minnesota Dept. of Health and New York City government, you cannot get measles if you’ve already had it.The available vaccine is MMR, which contains a combination of measles, mumps and rubella vaccines. Two vaccines are available for use in the U.S.: MMR II and PRIORIX. The CDC says they’re considered interchangeable.There is also the MMRV vaccine, which contains a combination of measles, mumps, rubella and varicella – or chickenpox – vaccines. It’s only for use in kids 12 months old through 12 years old.You can find a whole lot more about vaccines on the CDC website.While there’s no national online database, there are some things you can do to track down your vaccination records. Here’s a page from the CDC on how you can do that. To stream KHOU 11 on your phone, you need the KHOU 11 app.Next up in 5Example video title will go here for this videoNext up in 5Example video title will go here for this videoIn Other News
