Dear families,

As you may have heard, there are four confirmed cases of measles in Monroe County. This disease is very contagious and we understand that parents could be concerned. Many in our community have never encountered this disease before, so we wanted to share some general information provided by the Center for Disease Control.

Measles is very contagious.
Measles spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. An individual can get measles by being in a room where a person with measles has been, even up to two hours after that person has left. An infected person can spread measles to others even before knowing he/she has the disease—from four days before developing the measles rash through four days afterward.

Measles symptoms typically include:

=         High fever (may spike to more than 104° F)

=         Cough

=         Runny nose

=         Red, watery eyes

=         Rash breaks out 3-5 days after symptoms begin

Vaccination
The best protection against measles is measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. The MMR vaccine provides long-lasting protection against all strains of measles. Children need two doses of MMR vaccine for best protection. The first dose at 12 through 15 months of age and the second dose 4 through 6 years of age.

More information is available on the Center for Disease Control website at: https://www.cdc.gov/measles

Our main concern is the safety of your children. For specific questions, we urge you to contact your child’s primary care physician. If there are any local developments, the District will be in contact with updates.

Sincerely,

Mickey Edwards