Measles case reported in North Carolina from child visiting from out of the country

RALEIGH, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The first case of measles in North Carolina this year was reported on Tuesday. 

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed a case in a child who was visiting Forsyth and Guilford counties. Officials say the child became ill while traveling from another country where measles outbreaks have recently been reported. They were in the area between Thursday, June 19, and Sunday, June 22. 

To protect the individual and their family’s privacy, no additional information about this individual will be released. NCDHHS is recommending all unvaccinated individuals ages 1 and older receive the measles vaccination to protect themselves and those around them.  

DHHS says the child arrived at the PTI airport on Thursday, stayed at the Sleep Inn in Kernersville, and visited several Triad-area attractions. The full schedule is below:

If you visited a listed location during the dates and times below, review your immunization records or contact your health care provider to make sure you are up to date on the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. 

DHHS says measles is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease that is spread by direct person-to-person contact and through the air. The virus can live for up to two hours in the air where the infected person was present.

This is the first measles case reported in North Carolina since last September, which was in Mecklenburg County. And before that it was 2018 for the entire state.

NCDHHS is working closely with the Forsyth County Department of Public Health and Guilford County Health Department to identify locations and times where people might have been exposed to measles. 

As of last week, there were 1,214 confirmed measles cases nationwide this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Health officials in Texas, where the nation’s biggest outbreak raged during the late winter and spring, confirmed six cases in the last week.

Iowa announced the state’s first outbreak on Thursday, and Georgia confirmed its second Wednesday.