BOWLING GREEN, Ky.-After a measles outbreak in Columbus, Ohio, local doctors are urging parents to get their children vaccinated.
Measles is a very contagious respiratory viral illness. The most common symptoms are a high fever and rash. The rash typically starts on the face and spreads to the body.
Children can also develop a cough, runny nose and watery eyes.
Doctors recommend to have the first dose of vaccination at 12-15 months of age and the second dose at four to five years old.
“Historically if 95% of people in a community have immunity to measles, because they’ve had vaccination we don’t see measles spread. But when immunization rates drop, outbreaks can happen,” said Norton Children’s Pediatric Infectious Diseases Physician Dr. Kris Bryant.
In severe cases, measles can cause pneumonia and brain inflammation. 1 in 20 kids who have measles get hospitalized.
