Measles Appearing In The Midwest

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 The Center for Disease Control says just over 100 people from 14 states were reported to have measles in January.

One of the states that has a confirmed case of measles includes Minnesota.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus.
Andrea Jirges studies pre-med at NDSU.
She finds it odd that measles is re–emerging after years of the disease not being active in the country.

“I’m really surprised I guess I haven’t heard about measles in a long time this is the first time I’ve heard it brought up in quite a few years,” said Jirges of Fargo.

The disease has made its way into Minnesota and South Dakota, but not North yet.

“What the health department really wants people to know that you should know your immunity status which means you should know if you’re up to date on your vaccines or not,” said ND Dept. of Health Epidemiologist Twila Singh.

“It is a scary topic and I know it’s crazy to think that measles is on the rise again because we haven’t heard about it in years I’m sure,” said Macy Downs of Fargo.

Health officials say you can prevent measles like many other diseases, some things to keep in mind include wash your hands and make sure when you cough, cover your mouth but not with your hand.

You can also get vaccinated.

“It can be a serious life threatening disease and it’s extremely contagious if there’s 10 people in a room and one person has measles 90% of the unvaccinated people will get it,” said Singh.

“Scary because I mean you have people coming in and out all the time let’s say you’re at the doctor, someone comes in there a few appointments before you you could still be around and you could still get it from them that way,” said Jirges.

A contagious disease that many hope doesn’t make its way into the valley.

About three out of 10 people who get measles will develop one or more complications.