Measles are Now Confirmed in Missouri – Here’s What That Means

As cases of measles in America explode, this was probably inevitable. It's been confirmed by health officials in the state that the measles are now in Missouri and it's important to know what that means.

The official measles announcement came today from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Here's what we know and what we don't know yet:

• The measles case is a child who traveled internationally
• The case was confirmed in Taney County, Missouri which is in the Branson area
• The contacts the child made in Missouri are believed to be limited and not widespread
• All those who came in contact with the child have been notified

What we don't know yet

The key will be if any of those who came in contact with the Taney County, Missouri child now have the measles. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services believes as of this writing that will probably not be the case, but they'll need to confirm the measles have not spread.

How can you avoid getting the measles?

The CDC notes that the measles are spread when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. The rash symptoms don't normally appear until 4 days after infection. The University of Chicago documents that the measles is not a serious disease for most, but there is a mortality rate of 3 for every 1,000 people that get the infection. The issue is that it's very difficult to tell who will become seriously ill once they get the measles.

Let's hope the state of Missouri is correct and this measles case is isolated and hasn't spread any further. We don't want to see an explosion of cases like they've seen in Texas.