Contagious Measles Patient Traveled Around North Suburbs: CCDPH

CHICAGO — Public health officials have been tracing the steps of a north suburban resident who contracted measles abroad and may have infected others in Chicago and the North Shore last week, the Cook County Department of Public Health announced Wednesday.

The case was confirmed Tuesday and is no longer infectious, but people may have been exposed to the highly contagious virus in Chicago, Deerfield, Glencoe, Glenview, Niles and Northbrook, according to the department.

The confirmed measles case was contracted in another country that is "currently experiencing outbreaks," according to Demian Christiansen, director of communicable disease control for the Cook County Public Health Department. He declined to identify in which country the patient contracted the virus or disclose when they returned or whether they were vaccinated. The person's age, sex and town of residence were also not disclosed.

Measles is a highly contagious virus that can cause pneumonia and encephalitis, potentially leading to death or brain damage. Its symptoms include a fever and rash, and there are no antiviral drugs to treat the infection. It can be prevented with the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine, which is recommended for children at 12 months of age and required in Illinois for all schoolchildren up to 12th grade, according to public health officials.

Despite a proclamation from public health officials that measles had been eliminated from the United States in 2000, outbreaks have been on the rise in recent years. From Jan. 1 to March 21, there were 314 confirmed cases of measles nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Illinois has already recorded more cases of measles in the first three months of 2019 than in all of last year, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Earlier this month, state public health officials announced an unvaccinated Illinois resident may have exposed people at Midway Airport in Chicago on the night of Feb. 22.

Amid an outbreak that has infected more than 150 people since October, officials in Rockland County, New York, declared a state of emergency and banned unvaccinated children from public places this week. Public health officials are offering free vaccinations. The outbreak has centered on the county's large Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, and county officials report less than 75 percent of residents are vaccinated against measles.

Christiansen said the north suburban case is Cook County's first of 2019. He said two doses of measles vaccine are close to 98 percent effective in preventing measles and recommended everyone who is able to make sure their vaccines are up to date.

"We always want everybody who is either under-vaccinated or not vaccinated to have that conversation with their provider so that they're not susceptible any more," Christiansen said. "The last thing we want is more measles in the area. So, to the extent people can get vaccinated, it's a very good thing."

Christiansen said no locations in Lake County were involved and Chicago and Evanston public health officials are assisting with the investigation. His department provided the following timeline of areas visited by the infected individual with possible exposure to the public. Two hours have been added to departure times because the measles virus can potentially remain in the air.

Sunday, March 17

• 1 to 6 p.m. – Rochelle Zell Jewish High School, 1095 Lake Cook Road, Deerfield

Monday, March 18

• 9 a.m. to noon – Full Circle Fitness, 55 Green Bay Road, Glencoe
• 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Dunbrook Cleaners and Tailors, Dunbrook Center, 2750 Dundee Road, Northbrook
• 4 to 7 p.m. – Bed Bath and Beyond, 96 S. Waukegan Road, Deerfield
• 5 to 8 p.m. – Sunset Foods, 1127 Church St., Northbrook

Tuesday, March 19

• 5 to 8:45 p.m. Greek Islands Restaurant, 200 S. Halsted St., Chicago
• 7:15 to 11:45 p.m. Nederlander Theater, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago

Thursday, March 21

• 10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., Home Depot, 655 Lake Cook Road, Deerfield
• 11 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., Medical offices, 707 Lake Cook Road, Deerfield
• 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Giorgio Elan Salon, 9025 N. Milwaukee Ave., Niles
• 3:45 to 6 p.m. Shell Gas Station, 9002 N. Milwaukee Ave., Niles
• 1:45 to 6:40 p.m. Fresh Farms, 8203 W. Golf Road, Niles
• 4:45 to 7 p.m., Dunbrook Cleaners and Tailors, Dunbrook Center, 2750 Dundee Road, Northbrook
• 5 to 7 p.m. Dairy Queen, 2770 Dundee Road, Northbrook

Friday, March 22

• 1:15 to 3:45 p.m., Medical offices, 707 Lake Cook Road, Deerfield
• 2 to 4:30 p.m., Glenbrook Hospital Laboratory and Oncology Center, 2100 Pfingsten Road, Glenview

Saturday, March 23

• 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Northshore Urgent Care, 49 Waukegan Road, Deerfield
• 10:30 p.m. to 2 a.m., Northshore Evanston Hospital, Emergency Department, 2650 Ridge Ave., Evanston

Measles is spread through the air when a contagious person coughs or sneezes. According to the Cook County Public Health Department, there is no continuing risk at any of the listed locations and public health officials are working to contact all employees who were present during potential exposure times. The health care facilities where the patient was evaluated while contagious were working to identify all potential areas and notify those who may be susceptible.

The department asked anyone experiencing potential measles symptoms who may have been exposed at any of the above locations and times to contact a health care provider before showing up to a medical office or emergency room. Potentially infectious patients should make special arrangements to be evaluated without putting patients and staff at risk, according to public health officials. The virus has an incubation period of about 10 to 12 days before those inflected become contagious for anywhere from 14 to 21 days. Usually fever is the first symptom.

More information about measles is available by calling the Cook County Department of Public Health at 708-836-8699, the Chicago Department of Public Health at 312-746-5360 and the Evanston Health Department at 847-448-4311, or from the website of the Illinois Department of Public Health.