Two illegal immigrant children have been infected with measles in Chicago, with the city’s health agency asking families at the shelter to avoid sending their children to schools.
The first measles case was confirmed by the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) on Thursday. The individual was reportedly “recovering well at home.” This was the “first case identified in a Chicagoan since 2019,” the agency stated. A second and third case have been reported, this time among children from a new arrivals shelter in Pilsen. The first child, reported on Friday, “has recovered and is no longer infectious.” The second child, reported two days later, “is hospitalized in good condition.”
The second child is enrolled at one of the institutions under the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). “The school leadership, staff, and families at the impacted school have already been notified about the situation,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said in a Match 11 message to families.
“Out of an abundance of caution, CDPH advised families at the impacted shelter to keep their school-aged children in place and avoid attending school Friday. This will continue to be the case on Monday, March 11.”
The agency has imposed movement restrictions at the shelter. Vaccinated residents will be allowed to enter and exit the shelter at their discretion. Unvaccinated residents or individuals who have only been vaccinated recently “have to quarantine for 21 days (from the date of vaccination) and watch for symptoms.”
“CDPH continued to collaborate with community and healthcare partners at the shelter this weekend to screen residents for symptoms and get them vaccinated,” the agency said on Sunday. “Case investigations are underway to ensure those the two (children) may have come in contact with while infectious are informed and vaccinated.”
Since 2019, the state of Illinois had not reported a single measles case until last year when five incidents were registered. CDPH claimed an increasing number of measles cases have been identified nationwide and worldwide in recent months “due to lower vaccination coverage.”
“The majority of Chicagoans are vaccinated against measles and therefore are not at high risk but we are strongly urging those who aren’t vaccinated to do so as soon as possible, new arrivals and all Chicagoans. It is by far the best protection against measles,” said CDPH Commissioner Olusimbo Ige.
“Because of how contagious measles is, I anticipate seeing more cases. Should you be exposed to someone who has measles, if you are not vaccinated you need to immediately quarantine and call a health provider. If you are not sure of your vaccination status, stay home and call your health provider as soon as possible.”
CPDH asked all Chicago citizens to review their immunization records and ensure they are up-to-date on the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. Citizens can access immunization records through the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Vax Verify portal.
The MMR vaccine is available at most Chicago doctor’s offices and pharmacies. Illinois law allows children as young as seven years to get vaccinated in pharmacies.
US Infections
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 45 measles cases had been reported in the United States across 17 jurisdictions as of March 7. Last year, 58 cases were reported, a decrease from the 121 incidents in 2022.In 2019, there were 1,274 individual measles cases across 31 states, which was the “greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1992,” the CDC stated.
“The majority of cases were among people who were not vaccinated against measles. Measles is more likely to spread and cause outbreaks in U.S. communities where groups of people are unvaccinated.”
The CDC recommends that children get two doses of MMR vaccine, the first between 12 and 15 months of age and the second between four and six years of age.
“The MMR vaccine is very safe and effective. Two doses of MMR vaccine are about 97 percent effective at preventing measles; one dose is about 93 percent effective,” the agency claims.
Before the measles vaccination program kicked off in the United States in 1963, around three to four million individuals were estimated to have contracted measles every year. Out of this, roughly half a million were reported to the CDC, 48,000 were hospitalized, 1,000 developed encephalitis (brain swelling), and 400 to 500 people died.
“Since then, widespread use of measles virus-containing vaccine has led to a greater than 99 percent reduction in measles cases compared with the pre-vaccine era.”
“It is so contagious that if one person has it, up to 9 out of 10 people around him or her will also become infected if they are not protected. Your child can get measles just by being in a room where a person with measles has been, even up to two hours after that person has left,” the agency stated.
“An infected person can spread measles to others even before knowing he/she has the disease—from four days before developing the measles rash through four days afterward.”
