Health officials say they have a confirmed measles case reported in Austin – KVUE.com
To stream KVUE on your phone, you need the KVUE app.Next up in 5Example video title will go here for this videoNext up in 5Example video title will go here for this videoAUSTIN, Texas — Health officials say they have confirmed a case of measles in Austin.During a press briefing Friday, Austin Public Health confirmed that an unvaccinated infant was exposed to measles while traveling overseas. Everyone else in the child’s family is vaccinated.Officials said contact tracing is complete and they don’t expect additional exposures. The child and their family members are all isolated at home.”It certainly raises our level of concern, our level of readiness, but we’ve been ready,” Austin Travis County Public Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes said. “We’ve been planning for over a year for the possibility of a measles outbreak, because we’ve known that our vaccination rate has been declining. We’ve been working hard to get people vaccinated, and we’re calling for people to get vaccinated now, if they’re unvaccinated, to protect themselves.”Walkes said the case is not related to an ongoing measles outbreak in the South Plains region of Texas, where 146 cases have been reported as of Friday, Feb. 28. Twenty of the patients have been hospitalized, and one unvaccinated child has died, marking the first measles death in the U.S. in a decade.Measles is highly contagious and spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. To give you a sense of how contagious this virus is, doctors say if one person has it, up to 9 out of 10 people nearby will become infected if they are not protected.”The measles virus can survive in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours after the infected person has left the area,” Walkes said. “People who have direct contact through coughs or sneezes should monitor for symptoms for up to 21 days after exposure.”Local health officials stress that there is no local outbreak, but they say now is the time to take precautions and prepare.The MMR – measles-mumps-rubella – vaccine is highly effective in protecting against measles. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one dose of the MMR vaccine is 93% effective against measles and two doses are 97% effective against the disease.”We know how to combat this, and we need that vaccination rate to increase in our community by coming together, getting vaccinated, and prioritizing public health,” Travis County Judge Andy Brown said. “We can do this together. The steps are simple. Get vaccinated if you haven’t already.”According to state health data, Travis County’s MMR vaccination rate among kindergarteners is just under 90%. Doctors say communities need 95% immunization rates to have “herd immunity.”One thing that worries local leaders is the under 90% vaccination rate among kindergarteners at some schools, which health officials said increases the risk of an outbreak by 51%.”We’re continuing to work with those school administrators to get vaccines in arms,” Walkes said. “We’ve been having clinics. Our mobile team has been educating families, and we’re continuing that work and that effort. It’ll be ongoing until we get the job done and get the message to parents that need to hear it.”Health officials said kids as young as a year old can get their first dose of the MMR vaccine and the second when they’re between four and six years old. “If everybody else had their kids vaccinated at the proper ages, this would not be an issue,” Brown said. “By not vaccinating your child at the proper ages of 12 to 15 months and then again at 4 to 6 years, you’re putting other infant children at risk. You’re putting our community’s lives at risk. You’re putting our economy’s life at risk.”If a parent is going to an area where measles is prevalent, Walkes said the child should be vaccinated earlier, at six to eleven months. Walkes said that guidance may change if we see more cases in the Austin area.”If we do have an outbreak where we see more than three or more cases in our area, then we will change our guidance,” Walkes said.According to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), of the 146 cases, 98 have been reported in Gaines County, and 21 have been reported in nearby Terry County. Most of the cases have been among children. DSHS reports that 79 of the 146 patients were unvaccinated, 62 have unknown vaccination status, and five have received at least one dose of the MMR vaccine.While there is no local outbreak right now, Walkes said she and her team are prepared for the worst but are hoping for the best.”We’ve been in contact with our hospital partners and clinics and folks across our jurisdiction, and they are ready and prepared and have processes in place to handle people who may contact them saying that they have symptoms of measles,” Walkes said.Another primary concern for local leaders is South by Southwest (SXSW) starting next weekend. As hundreds of thousands of people descend upon Downtown Austin, they don’t want that to become a super spreader event. They are encouraging those in the community who aren’t vaccinated to get vaccinated. The city and health department say they are working with organizers on health precautions for the event.”We work in collaboration with Austin Special Events to help them mitigate and strategize for health precautions for events,” Walkes said. “Our team has been in contact with them and our business partners across the city.”Anyone looking to get the vaccine can do so at doctor’s offices and pharmacies. The health department offers the MMR vaccine at its “Shots for Tots” and “Big Shots” clinics. You can find information about those here. Children under the age of 14 do need a prescription from a doctor to get the vaccine at a pharmacy.
