The CDC recommends children get 2 doses of the MMR vaccine (or MMR): one between 12 and 15 months and one between 4 and 6 years old.
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According to Columbus Public Health, there have been a few 56 measles cases linked to outbreak in central Ohio until Monday of this week.
For this reason, doctors warn that measles can be serious even for adults, even if the majority of cases concern children under 5 years of age.
“Measles is a miserable disease,” said Dr. Matthew Exline, director of critical care at OSU Wexner Medical Center. “If you get it after your 20th birthday, you’re at a much higher risk of developing complications.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advise children to get 2 doses of the MMR vaccine (or triple viral): one between 12 and 15 months and the other, between 4 and 6 years.
Dr. Exline explained that these serious complications include brain swelling that can lead to hospitalization and permanent brain damage or pneumonia that can also lead to hospitalization.
It also ensures that people can have many disorders in their immune system that can have ramifications for years after contracting the disease.
Since measles is highly contagious, doctors urge people to get the MMR vaccine and pay attention to places of exposure.
sources of contagion
There are four locations where people have been exposed to measles in the Columbus area since last month: the Meijer grocery store on Sawmill Road, a church on Cleveland Avenue, Polaris Mall, and now the Dollar Tree store on Westerville Road.
That too was known people were exposed in northeastern Ohio, according to Richland County Public Health, at the Richland Mall on Nov. 28.
Because of this, the Richland County Health Department confirmed that it was an exposure, and there are no confirmed cases in people living in Richland County at this time.
“There is one thing we are not prepared for, for those of us who have never really lived in an era where measles widespread, is that it is far more contagious than any other virus we know of,” said Dr. Exline.
Columbus Public Health said the CDC will stay here for at least the next week to assist in the investigation of the measles outbreak.
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