Missouri Issues Official Health Alert about Contagious Outbreak

I saw a health alert from the state of Missouri that immediately question myself to make sure I was up-to-date on my shots. It's an official advisory about an ongoing highly-contagious outbreak that is spreading fast throughout Missouri.

I saw this share by the Missouri Department of Health and the part of "official health advisory" immediately got my attention. As I shared recently, Missouri is one of 15 states that have seen an unusual uptick of the measles which is especially dangerous to children.

Since I only have the nickname "Doc" and am not a real doctor, I'm always wary of sharing health information so I'll be as specific as I can about what it appears this health advisory from the Missouri Department of Health is all about. Here's what we know as far as facts:

A couple weeks ago, there were only 35 cases of measles reported in Missouri and other states. Last week, Illinois was included and the number of known cases had risen to 53. This update from the CDC just a few days ago shows the increase of cases continues. The new total is 58 and there are now a total of 17 states affected.

As I look at the Missouri Department of Health advisory on measles, it appears to be a travel advisory that is also part of a CDC global advisory. It's downloadable as a .pdf if you'd like to look at details yourself. This is how it appears on the Missouri Department of Health website.