Fears of a possible case of measles in Jersey City are spreading across the Garden State. Doctors are now urging parents to get their kids vaccinated. Pat Battle reports.
The Jersey City Department of Health and the state Department of Health are investigating a suspected case of measles in a 1-year-old baby who has not yet been vaccinated.
The baby has recovered, but out of an abundance of caution, residents in the building where the baby lives have been notified of the potential exposure.
The latest time a person could become ill due to exposure in this case would be Feb. 7.
Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus and is spread by contact with nasal or throat secretions of infected people. Measles can lead to serious side effects and, in rare cases, death. Measles symptoms usually appear in 10 to 12 days, but can occur as late as 18 days after exposure. Symptoms generally appear in two stages.
Anyone who's not vaccinated and may have been exposed to measles should contact their doctor if they show symptoms like rash, high fever, cough, runny nose and red watery eyes. They should call ahead in order to limit exposure to anyone else in a doctor's office or hospital.
The first measles vaccine is not given until a child is between 12 and 15 months old.
This would mark the first case of measles in New Jersey this year.
New York state has had three cases of measles this year. Last week, a college student who took an international flight into New York City and then an Amtrak train out of Penn Station was diagnosed with measles at Bard College in Dutchess County.
