OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says Michigan has its first confirmed case of measles since 2019.
An Oakland County child traveling internationally became ill with the virus.
Measles is wildly contagious.
“It’s one of the most infectious viruses we have,” said Dr. Gretchen Snoyenbos Newman with the DMC.
Michigan’s current measles vaccination rate is 83.6% for children 19-35 months.
“It’s concerningly low,” Newman said. “Pediatric infectious disease doctors, pediatricians, and the public health community at large have really been trying to ring this alarm since before the pandemic, certainly in the wake of the pandemic where we’re seeing decreased rates of childhood vaccination, and measles is the anchor of childhood vaccination.”
The last time Michigan had measles was in 2019. More than 40 people became sick, ranging in age from eight months to 63 years old.
MDDHS is encouraging anyone one year and older to get the measles vaccine.