Photo: Jay Janner ~ USA TODAY NETWORK
OAKLAND COUNTY, MI, March 25, 2025 ~ With Michigan recently reporting its first measles case this year, state health officials are sharing tips and encouraging vaccinations to mitigate its spread amid a nationwide outbreak.
The highly infectious disease was first reported on March 14 in Oakland County, likely exposing people in two Rochester restaurants earlier in the month. The disease is marked by a high fever, coughs, a runny nose, irritated eyes, white spots known as Kopliks inside the mouth, and a red rash starting on the face before it spreads to the rest of the body. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, over 378 cases have been reported this year across the U.S., with a major outbreak in Texas seeing one death so far of an unvaccinated 6-year-old girl.
PODCAST:
March 25, 2025 ~ Last week, Michigan reported its first measles case of 2025, as the U.S. works to contain the giant measles outbreak in the Southwest. Candace DeMatties, vice president of policy and advocacy for the Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease, talks with Guy Gordon, Lloyd Jackson, and Jamie Edmonds about the overwhelming support to keep FDA-approved vaccines widely available and where to find reliable sources, such as healthcare providers.
(CONTINUED) Candace DeMatties, vice president of policy and advocacy for the Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease, told WJR the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is by getting two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, particularly when people are young children.
“If 10 people were in a room, for example, who are unvaccinated or otherwise not immune to measles, and someone walked into the room with measles, nine out of 10 of those people would get measles. That’s how contagious it is,” she said.
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