Doctors Urging Parents To Vaccinate Kids As Measles Spreads Across Country

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - As parents get ready to send their kids back-to-school, there's concern about the spread of the measles.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it's monitoring an outbreak in 21 states, including Pennsylvania.

From Jan. 1 to July 14, 2018, 107 people from 21 states - Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington and the District of Columbia - were reported to have measles.

While the biggest outbreak is in Texas, Dr. Jennifer Preiss said that doesn't mean Pittsburgher's shouldn't be cautious especially with their kids.

"The kids that are not immunized are the kids at the highest risk," said Dr. Preiss.

Dr. Preiss is a PCP and pediatrician with Allegheny Health Network. She said some parents have chosen not to immunize their kids over the years for certain reasons, but they should think again.

"The MMR vaccine was always associated in the past with the possibility of causing autism. That has been debunked many, many, years ago," said Dr. Preiss. "I also think there is a fair amount of travel and immigration and people who are from countries that aren't as rigid about immunizations."

The majority of people that contract the disease are not vaccinated. Measles is highly contagious, so people that aren't vaccinated are at highest risk of contracting the virus.  That is especially true for children under the age of 5 and people with a compromised immune system.

The CDC says symptoms generally appear in about seven to 14 days after a person is infected and can begin with a high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes. The symptoms are then followed by a rash that appears on a person's face and then spreads to the neck, arms, legs, and feet.

The part that gets scary is if you have complications like pneumonia. That's when it can become life-threatening.

Dr. Preiss is urging parents to take control now.

"If you chose to defer vaccination, now is the perfect time to come get the vaccine," said Dr. Preiss.

In 2017, 118 people were reported to have measles nationwide. This year, the number of measles cases in the United States is expected to surpass that number.

The Allegheny County Health Department confirmed a local case of measles as recently as February.

The latest outbreak was in 2015 when nearly 200 people came down with the disease. The outbreak was linked to an amusement park in California.