TRAVERSE CITY — The Grand Traverse County Health Department is keeping a close eye on a potentially deadly illness that’s making a comeback.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 1,000 cases of measles have been reported nationwide this year, including nine in Michigan.
Even though none have been reported in our area, cases have popped up in Ingham, Macomb, Oakland and, inching closer to Northern Michigan, Montcalm County.
The CDC says 13% of cases across the country have been hospitalized. So far, three people have died.
Those numbers may seem small, but measles is highly contagious and can quickly spread.
Jacalyn Money-Bruno, Communicable Disease and Immunization Supervisor with the Grand Traverse County Health Department, said the increase can be blamed on fewer people getting immunizations since the COVID-19 pandemic and misinformation about side effects, “I think there’s a lot of, you know, different rumors or myths. I think the one that most people have heard is that the MMR vaccine causes autism, even though we have a lot of research to show that that, isn’t true (…) What can happen is if we have members of our community, maybe, who are unvaccinated, and then they travel to a place with cases, they come in contact with it, they can bring it back to our community.”
Symptoms of the measles include fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. A red, blotchy rash on the body will then show up a few days later, along with small white or red spots inside the mouth.
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