For the first time this year, measles has been confirmed in Wisconsin.
A total of nine cases have been confirmed in Oconto County by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and Oconto County Public Health.
All of the cases were exposed to a common source during out-of-state travel.
Measles is a highly contagious disease that can be spread from person to person through the air and can stay in the air for two hours after a sick person coughs or sneezes.
It is so contagious that if one person gets it, up to 90% of the people around them may also become infected if they are not vaccinated.
Symptoms, which can take between 10 and 21 days to appear, include a runny nose, high fever, tiredness, a cough, red, watery eyes, and a red rash with raised bumps.
Anyone who develops symptoms of measles is encouraged to stay home and call their doctor’s office or clinic before visiting so they can take precautions to ensure other patients are not exposed to the virus.
Measles can be prevented with the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine, with two doses being 97% effective at preventing the disease.
For more details on measles and how you can protect yourself, visit DHS.Wisconsin.gov.
