Measles: What You Need to Know

Stephen Blatt MD talks about the measles and what parents need to know about vaccinating their kids.

The Measles virus has spread to more than 140 people in 17 states. The virus is getting closer to Ohioans with confirmed cases in the bordering states of Michigan and Pennsylvania. “I think it is likely we will see cases here in Ohio in the not too distant future with the way this virus is so infectious,” says Stephen Blatt MD, Medical Director, TriHealth Infectious Diseases. “If your children have not been vaccinated, you really need to give them the opportunity to be protected from this disease and get them vaccinated."

Dr. Blatt says most elderly people and adults are protected due to having the virus when they were younger or being vaccinated at an early age. Children are the largest at-risk group. “Kids can still die from measles,” said Dr. Blatt. “It’s a serious childhood virus that’s completely preventable with the vaccine.”

Measles: Dr. Blatt Explains the Outbreak

Measles is one of the most highly infectious viruses out there. You can be across the room from a person infected with measles and still be at risk for infection. “You can still catch the virus because it travels through the air and is highly infectious,” said Dr. Blatt. “The disease is spread by coughing from an individual who is infected.”

Most physicians thought the measles virus had been eradicated completely up until about a year ago when new cases started popping up. It can cause:

• High fevers
• Meningitis
• Encephalitis
• Pneumonia

“The key is to get vaccinated against the measles virus,” says Dr. Blatt. “Over 95 percent of the people who get the vaccine are protected and when most of the people in the population get the vaccine, we just don’t have the virus in our country.”