Kentucky has a measles outbreak, with a total of 19 confirmed cases this year and 11 of those discovered in August alone, according to the state’s Department for Public Health.
That’s more than any recent year, according to state data that goes back to 2019. All 19 cases from this year are in individuals who are either unvaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown, according to the state’smeasles dashboard. An outbreak is defined as three or more related cases by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the dashboard, 10 cases were discovered in Christian County. Other counties with confirmed cases are Jessamine, with four cases, Trigg County, with two, and Owen, Todd and Washington, which have (or had) one case each.
Of the 19 known cases this year:
Five are/were in children 5 years old or younger.
Ten are/were in children between the ages of 5 and 17.
Four are/were in people 18 years old and older.
There have been two measles hospitalizations and no deaths this year.Measlesis extremely contagious and spread through the air from coughs or sneezes, according to theCDC. One infected person can infect nine in 10 unprotected people around them.
Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a rash. The best protection against measles is the measles vaccination, which is generally available at pharmacies and through medical providers. The CDCrecommendsthe measlesvaccinationseries at 12-15 months and then at 4-6 years old.
Vaccinations have declined recently even as the United States is facing an outbreak larger than any since measles “was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000,” the Cabinet for Health and Family Services previously said.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.