MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas – The Montgomery County Public Health confirmed Wednesday that a fourth Montgomery County resident has tested positive for measles, expanding the cluster first reported earlier this week.
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Health officials said the newest case involves a woman in her 20s or 30s who is currently hospitalized. The department said the patient is part of the same family as the three previously confirmed cases.
According to the health department, the family’s exposure traces back to contact with a person who had a confirmed measles infection and had traveled to Texas from out of state. Officials said none of the four patients had received the measles vaccine.
Measles spreads easily through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes, and people can become infected simply by being in the same indoor space where an infected person was — even up to two hours after the person leaves, health officials warned.
Symptoms typically develop about one to two weeks after exposure. The health department said common signs include fever higher than 101 degrees, cough, runny nose, irritated or watery eyes and a rash.
Anyone who thinks they may have measles or may have been exposed should stay away from others and call a healthcare provider before showing up for testing or treatment, the department said, so medical staff can limit exposure to other patients.
The health department emphasized vaccination as the best protection. The CDC recommends the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine for children at 12 to 15 months and a second dose at 4 to 6 years. Two doses are about 97% effective at preventing measles, officials said.
Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, but it continues to circulate in other parts of the world and can be brought into the country by infected travelers, the department noted.