ADPH reminds parents of the importance of measles vaccination

MONTGOMERY-The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) reminds parents to make sure their children are up to date with their measles vaccinations. Cases of this serious and highly contagious disease are rising in several states including Texas and Georgia just in the first two months of 2025. If exposed, unvaccinated people have a 90 percent chance of becoming infected, and infected people can spread the disease for up to three weeks.

Measles is a serious viral respiratory illness that lives in the nose and throat mucus of infected people. It spreads when people breathe in or have contact with virus-infected fluid and can pass through droplets sprayed into the air when someone with measles sneezes or coughs. Symptoms usually appear 7-14 days later.

ADPH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Karen Landers said, “One of the main messages we want to emphasize is that measles follows a pattern in which the child first develops fever, cough, runny nose, and watery/red eyes, then a rash develops. Persons can start spreading the virus up to four days before symptoms appear, and those with weak immune systems can spread the measles virus longer.”

No specific antiviral drug is available to treat measles. To help manage the symptoms, parents can ensure the child gets plenty of fluid and rest and give a non-aspirin fever medicine such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen. In some cases, measles can lead to other problems, such as ear infections, pneumonia, or encephalitis.

For most children, measles protection is part of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR), or measles-mumps-rubella-varicella vaccine, given when children are 12 to 15 months old and again when they are 4 to 6 years old. The first vaccine can be given to babies as young as 6 months of age if they will be traveling internationally. Vaccines are available at pediatricians’ offices or county health departments. The risk of MMR vaccine causing serious harm or death is extremely small. Getting the MMR vaccine is much safer than getting the measles disease.
Parents should call a doctor immediately if they believe their child has measles or if their child has been around someone who has measles, especially if their child is an infant, is taking medication that suppresses the immune system, has tuberculosis, cancer or a disease that affects the immune system or has not received two doses of the measles vaccine.

To learn more about the measles vaccines, go to https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/immunization/measles.html

Media Release/Burnestine Taylor, M.D./ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH