On Monday, the Chautauqua County Health Department announced its first lab-confirmed measles case in a resident of the county in over 30 years.
The health department did not provide details on the resident’s age, vaccination status or any public exposures.
“CCHD is working with the individual and appropriate health care partners to identify people who may have been exposed and provide guidance to those who may be at risk,” the health department wrote. “More information will be shared if contact tracing identifies any known public exposures.”
The reported case comes just two months after two cases were reported in unvaccinated children who did not know each other in Erie County. Those cases were the first in Erie County in eight years.
There have been 31 cases of measles so far in New York State this year, according to the state's Department of Health.
Measles is extremely contagious — it is 12 times more contagious than the flu, twice as contagious as COVID, and six times more contagious than Ebola. Measles can live in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours after a person passes through a room.
Symptoms typically present between one to three weeks after being exposed to a contagious person. Often, someone sick with measles will first have flu-like symptoms, a very high fever and/or pink eye. One to three days later, white spots in the mouth appear, followed by the characteristic rash three to five days after symptoms first began.
The health department is strongly urging residents to check their MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine status. One dose of the vaccine is 93% effective against measles, and two doses (the full course) is 97% effective.
Unvaccinated people face significant risks when they develop measles. According to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, about one in five unvaccinated people will be hospitalized.
Chautauqua County provides free MMR vaccination. The health department encourages anyone unsure of their vaccination status, who do not have insurance or who are having a hard time accessing the vaccine call (716) 753-4491 or visit HealthyCHQ.com.
