Second case of measles confirmed in Allegheny County, health department confirms
A second measles case is now confirmed in Allegheny County as the outbreak continues to spread across Pennsylvania.
According to the county health department, the two cases are connected. Both students attend the same school, but do not live in the same home and are in different grades. The first case, an unvaccinated minor, was announced on Monday.
The health department did not specify which school the exposure may have taken place at. But in a statement on Friday, Eden Christian Academy in the North Hills said it was "recently notified by local public health authorities of measles within our school community" and is working to mitigate further spread. Eden Christian Academy has locations in Ross Township, Pine Township and Ohio Township, but did not say which campus is affected.
Dr. Jillian Irwin, medical director of the Allegheny County Health Department, said the department has searched the vaccination records of everyone at the school who could've been in contact with the students or in the same room. Now, 11 students have been asked to quarantine at home for the next two weeks. All 11 of these students are unvaccinated.
"The big concern right now is that we are going to have additional students that are going to test positive that are going to come develop symptoms in this time frame, and at that point we're going to need to trace back and see where all of those people were," Dr. Irwin said.
While the traditional schedule for the MMR vaccine requires two doses, starting at 12 months of age, Irwin said parents of infants should talk to their pediatrician immediately about getting their baby on a measles vaccination schedule sooner.
"Now because there are cases of measles in Allegheny County residents, we're recommending that people get their measles vaccines for their kids at 6 months of age," she said. "If your baby is between 6 and 12 months right now, they actually need to restart the series once they turn 12 months, so they'll need to get a total of three."
Irwin said it's not a good idea to wait on the measles vaccine right now. She said you can confirm immunity to measles by getting a blood test to see if you have the antibodies, checking your vaccination record or if you were born before 1957.
As county health officials investigate the two cases of measles, the health department said it will call or text people who were exposed.
"We are doing our due diligence as fast as we possibly can to notify the public that might be at risk, and if there's anything they can do to mitigate it," Irwin said.
This year, Pennsylvania has surpassed 1,000 reported cases of measles, making it the largest outbreak in more than 30 years. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, nearly 20% of measles patients in the state have been hospitalized. In August, a case of measles was reported in a patient at UPMC Children's Hospital.
Individuals who have not been vaccinated have the highest risk of contracting the virus, which remains in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours.
"It's the most contagious virus that we know; we have no other viral infection like this," said Dr. Robert Jackson of the Mayo Clinic.
