The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that a Maine child has tested positive for measles, the state’s first case since 2019.
The agency said it is awaiting confirmation from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It has notified several facilities where exposure may have occurred and is working with those facilities to notify potentially exposed individuals.
No further information was provided about the child or the child’s condition.
The child tested positive despite having received a dose of the measles vaccine, the CDC said. It is not possible to get measles from the vaccine. The Maine CDC considers the child to be contagious due to an overabundance of precautions.
The MMR (measles, mumps rubella) vaccine is a two-dose regimen, with the first dose given at 12-15 months of age, and the second dose given to children between the ages of 4-6. It is possible to get measles even after being vaccinated, although this is rare. The US CDC reports that one dose of the vaccine provides 93% protection, while two doses provide 97% protection.
Fully vaccinated people who get measles tend to get milder cases and are less likely to transmit the disease, according to the US CDC.
People in the following locations during the times listed below may have been exposed to measles and are advised by the Maine CDC to take precautions:
• Family Time Dine and Play at Auburn Mall in Auburn, April 29, 3-7 pm
• Clear Choice MD in Scarborough (273 Payne Road), May 1, 1-4 pm
• Hannaford on Cottage Road in South Portland (Mill Creek Hannaford), May 1, 2-5 pm
• Mercy Fore River Emergency Department, May 2, 7:45 pm to midnight
• Mercy Fore River Emergency Department, May 3, midnight to 3:30 am
Anyone in these locations during these times should watch for symptoms for 21 days after their exposure, the CDC said. People who develop symptoms should call a health care provider for instructions before going to the office or hospital to help prevent further spread of infection. There are no asymptomatic cases of measles.
Most people are vaccinated for measles as a child, but people who have or may not have been vaccinated should talk to a health care provider, the CDC said.
From January 1 to April 28, there were 10 measles cases confirmed in eight states, according to the US CDC. The last major measles outbreak, in 2019, occurred in 31 states, with 1,274 cases, including one in Maine. The outbreak was driven by unvaccinated people, the US CDC said.
Maine also had a case in 2017, and the previous case before that happened in 1997.
Measles is an infectious viral disease that causes flu-like symptoms and a rash that spreads from the head down. It can cause pneumonia, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and death.
The virus is spread by coughing or sneezing and an infected person can spread the disease four days before a rash appears to four after. The virus can survive for two hours on surfaces and in the air.
The MMR vaccine is the best prevention for measles, says the CDC.
Maine eliminated religious and philosophical exemptions from school-required vaccines, including the MMR vaccine, in a 2019 law that took effect in 2021. A 2020 referendum that attempted to repeal the law failed at the polls, if where Maine people support mandatory vaccination for school attendance by a 73% to 27% margin.
Maine statewide opt-out rates have fallen from a high of about 6% of students entering kindergarten in 2019-20 – including non-medical and medical exemptions – to 1.8 % for the 2021-22 school year, when the law was implemented. Exemptions for medical reasons are still allowed.
Attempts to repeal the law have resurfaced in the current legislative session, with anti-vaccine advocates pushing debunked conspiracy theories about vaccines during public hearings in April. Because the Democrats are in control of the Legislature, and Gov. Janet Mills is in favor of the law, hoping it will survive attempts to overturn it.
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