Two reported measles cases in the Barren River Health District

BOWLING GREEN Ky.- Out of the 387 confirmed cases of Measles in the U.S. so far this year, two cases have been confirmed in Kentucky, specifically, the Barren River Health District.  Both individuals made full recoveries.

Some of the other states that have reported cases to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention are New York, Arizona, California.

Bethany Kinney from the Barren River Health Department in Bowling Green explains some potential symptoms of measles.

“Measles is an illness that starts with fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes, and then about three to five days later, the characteristic rash starts. It’s a rash that starts at the head and works its way down the body. It resolves in the same fashion,” said Kinney.

Dr. Debra Sowell, a Pediatrician at Graves Gilbert Clinic in Bowling Green says the best preventive measure against measles is vaccination, if the patient is 12 months or older.

“The most important thing is to obviously be vaccinated. If children are less than 12 months, there’s not anything that we can really do, but if they have known exposure, then there’s a whole series of things that can be done if they’re less than 12 months, because 12 months is the youngest age we can vaccinate,” said Sowell.

In addition to vaccination, Kinney emphasizes not to hesitate to let a health professional know of symptoms, so it can be stopped at the source.

“If you suspect that you yourself or your child has measles, alert your provider in advance so that they can take the proper precautions to prevent the spread of measles,” said Kinney.

According to the CDC, most people who got measles were not vaccinated.