As Iowa kids prepare to go back to school, health experts are urging parents to make sure they are up to date on their measles vaccination.
The state has confirmed eight cases of the highly contagious virus since May.
Karen Brust is a hospital epidemiologist at University of Iowa Health Care. She says if someone suspects they have measles, they should call ahead to alert their healthcare provider before going in.
“Fever, cough, red eyes, runny nose, those are symptoms of measles,” Brust says, “and that sometimes predates any sort of fever plus rash syndrome.”
The MMR vaccine — for measles, mumps and rubella — is considered 97 percent effective against the virus. According to state data, 84-percent of Iowa children were fully vaccinated last year, which falls several points below the 90-percent threshold experts consider herd immunity.
“The MMR vaccine still is the number one way to prevent getting sick, and most importantly, to prevent severe illness,” Brust says, “especially in that highly vulnerable population of very young, very old or immunocompromised.”
Measles can cause serious illness and in rare cases, death.
