WASHINGTON — The number of reported cases of measles through the first six and a half months of this year is up substantially around the country. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says some of those confirmed cases were reported locally.
From Jan. 1 through July 14, there were 107 cases of measles reported in 21 states as well as the District of Columbia. That’s up substantially from the 118 cases reported in 15 states and the District of Columbia in all of 2017.
D.C. health officials say the one reported case in the city involved someone visiting here from another country and not a District resident, and stressed there is no measles outbreak in the city.
The one case reported from Maryland involved someone from the D.C. area, according to a spokeswoman from the Maryland Department of Health.
They did not elaborate.
The CDC says the majority of people who get the measles were never vaccinated for it.
While vaccinations have kept measles to low levels in the U.S., it’s still common in many parts of the world and the CDC says people who have it keep traveling to the U.S.
Someone who gets the measles will typically begin showing symptoms that appear similar to a cold or flu, including a fever, cough, and runny nose. But after about two or three days, tiny white spots may start to appear inside the mouth.
A few days after that, a rash starts to develop on the face near the hair line, before spreading down.
At that point, a fever could spike to 104 degrees.
