COLUMBUS, Ohio — City and county health officials are investigating a measles outbreak at a Columbus-area child care facility.
According to a press release from Columbus Public Health, there are four confirmed cases in unvaccinated children with no travel history.
Officials add the facility is cooperating, has notified parents and has temporarily closed down.
Columbus Public Health and Franklin County Public Health are conducting case investigations and contact tracing.
“We are working diligently with the cases to identify any potential exposures and to notify people who were exposed,” said Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts. “The most important thing you can do to protect against measles is to get vaccinated with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is safe and highly effective.”
These four cases bring the total number of confirmed measles cases in Franklin County to eight since June 2022. Roberts said it's a 21-day incubation period from the time you were exposed to the time you have symptoms.
One of the children was hospitalized in intensive care. Additionally, health officials said they anticipate seeing more cases in the coming days.
With the risk for community spread, health officials are encouraging parents to make sure their children are up to date on their immunizations, including the MMR vaccine.
In the release, Columbus Public Health said 90% of unvaccinated individuals who are exposed to measles will become infected and about one in five people in the U.S. who get measles will be hospitalized.
Dr. Roberts told 10TV she has seen a trend of parents choosing not to get their kids vaccinated against measles and other diseases. She strongly recommends getting kids vaccinated as measles is as contagious as COVID-19.
Columbus Public Health said measles is preventable with two doses of MMR vaccine. The vaccines are available at Columbus Public Health during regular vaccine clinic hours and at Franklin County Public Health by appointment only. Children also can get MMR vaccines from their pediatrician or medical home.
“Measles is both highly contagious and preventable,” said Joe Mazzola, Franklin County Health Commissioner. “It can be a severe illness, so we strongly encourage anyone who has not been vaccinated to get vaccinated to prevent further spread.”
Measles spreads by coughing, talking or being in the same room with someone who has it. Initial symptoms of measles include a high fever, cough, runny nose and watery eyes followed by a rash that typically spread from the head to the rest of the body.
It generally takes eight to 12 days from exposure to the first symptom, which is usually fever. The rash appears usually two to three days after.
If you have these symptoms, Columbus Public Health says to call your doctor or clinic to let them know about symptoms and potential exposure before going in for a visit.
For questions, call Columbus Public Health at 614-645-1519 or Franklin County Public Health at 614-525-3791. For more information, visit https://www.columbus.gov/publichealth/programs/Infectious-Disease-Investigation/Measles-Information/ and https://myfcph.org/measles/.