Possible Measles Case in Montgomery County

By Alison Smith:

The Montgomery County Health Department is investigating a possible measles case in the county.

The Health Department said Friday it is a case of “physician-suspected measles,” 6ABC reported.

The possible patient is a 15-year-old boy, NBC Philadelphia said. The boy has been confined to his home while county officials await lab results, NBC said.

It was not clear Friday where in the county the boy lived, or whether or not the boy had been vaccinated.

The symptoms of measles generally appear about seven to 14 days after a person is infected. The first signs are high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Complications from measles can include ear infection, diarrhea and pneumonia, inflammation of the brain and even death, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Measles can also cause miscarriages or premature delivery in pregnant women.

The following people are at the highest risk of getting the measles:

• Infants under a year old who are too young to have received the vaccine
• People born after 1957 who received only one dose of the MMR vaccine
• People who have refused vaccination
• People from parts of the world with low vaccination rates
• People vaccinated from 1963 to 1967 with an inactivated vaccine and who haven’t been re-vaccinated