The Washtenaw County Health Department confirmed its 7th measles case of the year Wednesday afternoon.
Michigan has joined 30 other states that have had at least one measles outbreak this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
An outbreak is defined as three or more related cases.
The Washtenaw County Health Department said the most recent case is an unvaccinated child who was a close contact of the county's first case reported on March 11.
"Unfortunately, this most recent case may have exposed others at a local health care facility," the department said.
The facility was Trinity Health in Ann Arbor, from afternoon into the evening of Saturday, March 21, according to the health department. That's in addition to possible exposure sites related to a previous suspected measles case that has now been confirmed.
The health department said anyone who was at the following locations during the possible exposure times should monitor themselves for symptoms of measles for 21 days after the exposure.
| Date | Location | Time |
| Tuesday, March 17 | Crane Liberal Arts (LA) Building In or around Classroom 241 Washtenaw Community College (WCC) 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI 48105 | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Gunder Myron (GM) Building In or around Classroom 332 Washtenaw Community College (WCC) 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI 48105 | 1 to 5 p.m. | |
| Kroger 2010 Whittaker Rd, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 | 5 to 7:10 p.m. | |
| Saturday, March 21 | Trinity Health Ann Arbor Emergency room treatment areas (this does not include the waiting area) 5301 McAuley Dr., Ypsilanti, MI 48197 | 1:45 to 7:28 p.m. |
"If symptoms appear, do not seek medical treatment in person without calling the doctor’s office, urgent care, or emergency room first," the health department advised.
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s chief medical executive, said measles can remain airborne for up to two hours — meaning there’s a risk of exposure even without direct contact with someone who’s been infected.
“Measles for many years had been considered a legacy of the past,” Bagdasarian said, but the disease is becoming an issue again, largely due to declining vaccination rates.
“The United States had declared measles eliminated in 2000, and it seems very likely that we will lose our measles elimination status this year,” Bagdasarian said.
According to health experts, people with two doses of the measles vaccine are considered immune. So are individuals born before 1957 and those who’ve had measles before.
Washtenaw County Health Department Public Information Officer Susan Ringler-Cerniglia said measles is very contagious, and on average, about 1 in 5 unvaccinated children that get sick will require hospitalization.
“The more people that aren't vaccinated, when you have something so very contagious, it just has more opportunities to take hold and spread,” Ringler-Cerniglia said.
She said if someone is unprotected and exposed and they’re given notice within 72 hours, a vaccine can be administered to prevent infection. But for the county’s most recent case, that timeline had already passed.
Ringler-Cerniglia said because of their high risk, babies under a year old who can’t get vaccinated yet and those who are immunocompromised have the option of getting a treatment called immune globulin therapy, which bolsters immunity to pathogens.
Symptoms for measles usually start 1 to 2 weeks after exposure, but can appear up to 3 weeks after. High fever, cough, runny nose, a red rash, and white spots in the mouth are common signs of measles.
Healthcare workers said people who may have been exposed need to isolate themselves for three weeks and notify their healthcare provider if they’re seeking medical treatment.
“This is a really good time right now for people to review their vaccination records and make sure that they're not missing any vaccines,” Bagdasarian said. “This is a time where we're seeing not just a resurgence of measles, but also diseases like mumps and pertussis,” commonly called whooping cough.
“If you're someone that's opted not to get vaccinated because you really didn't think there was a likelihood of being exposed, you know, maybe time to reconsider that,” Ringler-Cerniglia said. “This vaccine has been around a long time and been used very safely and effectively for many, many years.”
