LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) - Medical professionals at Lima Memorial Health System are urging parents to vaccinate their children against measles.
The recommendation follows Ohio’s first confirmed measles case last week in Ashtabula County, along with ongoing outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico. Additionally, the Ohio Department of Health reports that measles immunization rates among Ohio kindergartners have fallen to 85.4%, below the national average of 92.7%. Lima Memorial warns that the disease can be serious for children and encourages vaccination to prevent a possible outbreak locally.
“Measles can be prevented very easily with doses of MMR. The vaccine is very safe and very effective. You typically get a dose at your one-year visit, and that gives you about 93% protection. And then, you get your second dose around age 4 to 6 years of age, and that's 97% protective, so the vaccine is very, very super effective and very safe,” explains Michelle Tegenkamp, CNP with Lima Memorial Pediatrics.
Tegenkamp said measles symptoms typically appear 7 to 14 days after exposure. A high fever between 101 and 105 degrees is often the first symptom, followed by a cough, runny nose, red and watery eyes, and a rash that usually starts around the head and neck before spreading down the body.
