Local doctors concerned about increase in Measles cases

HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) – Hamilton County Health officials are warning folks about measles rising in the United States. 

“We are certainly concerned that it is likely, and we have been receiving alerts and updates from CDC on the possibility of measles,” said Dr. Jeffery Bennett, Chief of Medicine, the Children’s Hospital at Erlanger.

Measles is a serious respiratory illness that is caused by a virus. 

The disease lives in the throat and nose of infected people. 

Dr. Jeffery Bennett with the Children’s Hospital at Erlanger says measles is highly contagious. 

“It is an incredibly infectious virus,” said Dr. Bennett. “Measles is something that once you have a case, you probably have more already brewing.”

According to the CDC, more than 130,000 people died of measles in 2022.

Dr. Bennett says measles can affect anyone who is not immune. 

“In the majority of the outbreaks that have happened in the United States, it has been a mix of adults and children who were affected.” Dr. Bennett said. 

Symptoms of measles can include high fever, dry cough, sore throat, inflamed eyes and skin rash. 

However, in order to prevent measles, Dr. Bennett encourages everyone to get vaccinated. 

“We have the tools at hand to entirely prevent this from affecting any child or adult in our community, simply by being vaccinated. So, it is a very simple prevention strategy that would put us in a much better place in the context of something that is potentially very dangerous to individuals and to communities,” Dr. Bennett concludes. 

However, there have not been any recent reported cases of measles in Tennessee or Georgia. The last reported case in Georgia was in 2020, and the last reported case in Tennessee was in 2019.