The Will County Health Department on Friday reported an additional positive case of measles.
The health department’s communiable disease staff is collecting more details to identify and notify people who may have been exposed, according to a health department news release.
Possible exposure may have occurred between 1 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in the emergency room at Ascension Saint Joseph Hospital in Joliet, the health department officials explained in the release.
According to the news release, those previously vaccinated against measles are likely protected and do not require further action.
Anyone exposed to the highly contagious disease should monitor for symptoms for three weeks and call the health department if symptoms develop. Unvaccinated individuals who were at Saint Joseph Hospital on Tuesday may have been exposed and should contact the health department’s communicable disease staff at 815-727-8481, the release states.
Measles can cause major health complications, especially in children younger than five, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, health officials stated in the release. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that about 1 in 5 people in the U.S. who get measles will be hospitalized and some cases can lead to brain swelling or fatal pulmonary disorders.
Measles symptoms generally appear 10 to 14 days after exposure, according to the Will County Health Department.
Common symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, red or watery eyes and tiny white spots on the inner lining of the cheek. Small red spots generally begin three to five days after other signs of the illness begin. The rash typically starts at the face and then spreads down the rest of the body, health officials explained.
Measles cases have been on the rise throughout the country and in Illinois.
There have been 58 confirmed cases of measles in Illinois in 2024, including 54 in Chicago, two in Will County, one in suburban Cook County and one in Lake County, according to the health department. This is the most in Illinois since 2015 when 17 cases were reported.
Measles can be preventable with the MMR vaccine, which is available at most doctors’ offices, pharmacies and the Will County Health Department’s immunization clinics in Joliet, Bolingbrook and Monee, according to officials. The CDC says the vaccine is 97% effective if given two doses and 93% effective with one dose
Michelle Mullins is a freelancer.