If You’re Planning To Do This in March, a Nationwide Measles Warning Was Just Issued

What we used to think of as the traditional winter virus season has grown less predictable, in part due to Covid’s year-round pattern after being declared as a pandemic five years ago this month.

March coincides with spring break season—and after Thursday’s announcement from the New Mexico department of health that a deceased individual had tested positive for measles while not having been vaccinated nor seeking medical care, come Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. Eastern, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced an official health advisory in connection with the recent measles outbreaks in multiple U.S. states.

Distributed by the CDC’s Health Alert Network, the announcement aimed to notify public health officials, clinicians and “potential travelers”—from the CDC’s site:

“With spring and summer travel season approaching in the United States, CDC emphasizes the important role that clinicians and public health officials play in preventing the spread of measles through vaccination. They should be vigilant for cases of febrile rash illness that meet the measles case definition particularly in unvaccinated persons, and share effective measles prevention strategies, including vaccination guidance for international travelers.”

The CDC states: “The risk for widespread measles in the United States remains low due to robust U.S. immunization” and coordinated public health efforts. They add, in bolded text: “Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination remains the most important tool for preventing measles.” The advisory urges all U.S. residents to be updated on their MMR vaccinations, “especially before traveling internationally, regardless of the destination.”

As of Friday, March 7, the Texas Department of State Health Services has identified 198 total measles cases, including one death of an unvaccinated child. New Mexico health officials have reported 30 cases as of Friday, including one death of an unvaccinated adult confirmed to have measles. (The CDC’s health advisory seems to include incorrect information for New Mexico’s cases, listing them at 10 total cases.) The death in New Mexico was first reported Thursday, but the official cause of death has not yet been announced (though the New Mexico Department of Health’s measles outbreak page has updated to include the death).

Measles is spread through airborne transmission and direct contact. The CDC reports 222 confirmed measles cases in the U.S. this year as of March 6—and the majority of the cases have been children who did not have the MMR vaccine. The advisory reminds the public that measles can create “severe health complications, including pneumonia, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), and death.”

The CDC says anyone with the following symptoms—and has recently traveled internationally, or domestically to a region with a known measles outbreak, or has other known or suspected exposure to measles—should be considered as diagnosed with measles:

• Fever that is equal to or greater than 101°F
• A generalized maculopapular rash also with any of the following:
  • Cough
  • Coryza (runny nose)
  • Conjunctivitis (pink eye)

Individuals can be contagious with measles starting four days before the appearance of a rash and then four days after. The total incubation period from the time someone is exposed to when they first develop a fever is generally seven to 10 days, per the CDC, and 10 to 14 days from exposure to rash appearance.

For daily wellness updates, subscribe to The Healthy by Reader’s Digest newsletter and follow The Healthy on Facebook and Instagram. Keep reading:

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