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WELL, THE MEASLES OUTBREAK IN TEXAS NOW REACHING 124 CASES AND JUST IN ABOUT 15 MINUTES AGO, TEXAS REPORTING ONE DEATH. ALMOST ALL CASES ARE IN PEOPLE WHO ARE UNVACCINATED. NEW MEXICO HAS AT LEAST NINE CASES NOW HERE AT HOME. THE OKLAHOMA STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SENDING AN ALERT TO DOCTORS, ASKING THEM TO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR ANY POTENTIAL CASES. JOINING US NOW WITH DR. H IS KENDRA DOHERTY. KENDRA, GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. THIS IS CONCERNING FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE RIGHT NOW, BUT WE DO WANT TO ASSURE EVERYONE NO MEASLES CASES HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN OKLAHOMA. BUT LET’S TALK ABOUT MEASLES AND THE VIRUS AND WHAT IT IS. SO MEASLES IS A HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS VIRAL RESPIRATORY INFECTION. IT CAUSES A RASH, ILLNESS, RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS AND HIGH FEVER. AND BY CONTAGIOUS I MEAN 90% OF PEOPLE WHO ARE NEARBY AND INFECTED. PERSON CAN GET MEASLES IF THEY DON’T HAVE THEIR OWN IMMUNE SYSTEM. LIKE, YOU KNOW, PRE-PRIMED FOR MEASLES, EITHER THROUGH VACCINATION OR A PREVIOUS INFECTION. OKAY. SO LET’S TALK ABOUT THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS. MEASLES MAYBE ISN’T SOMETHING THAT WE’RE ALL SUPER FAMILIAR WITH. WE DON’T SEE IT A LOT. SO WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS THAT PEOPLE NEED TO BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR? SO IT’S IT’S VERY DISTINCT AND AND CLASSIC MEASLES IS SOMETHING THAT WHEN WHEN WE HEAR ABOUT IT ON A CONSULTATION OR SOMETHING, WE, WE KNOW THAT’S THAT’S MEASLES. SO THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS YOU’RE LOOKING FOR, IT STARTS WITH A FEVER TYPICALLY. AND THEN QUICKLY PROGRESSES TO SOME OTHER RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS LIKE COUGH, RUNNY NOSE RED ITCHY EYES. AND YOU’RE THINKING, MAN, THAT SOUNDS A LOT LIKE FLU. BUT WITHIN 3 TO 5 DAYS AFTER THOSE EARLY SYMPTOMS START, THEN YOU DEVELOP THIS RASH. AND THE RASH IS REALLY KEY. AND IT’S VERY SPECIFIC TO MEASLES. SO IT STARTS AT YOUR HAIRLINE AND GOES DOWN YOUR BODY IN A RAINDROP PATTERN. AND IT TAKES SEVERAL DAYS FOR THE RASH TO SPREAD FROM YOUR HAIRLINE DOWN TO THE REST OF YOUR BODY. AT THAT POINT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE THINKING, MAN, THIS IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT, RIGHT? AND SO TYPICALLY IT TAKES TILL THE RASH APPEARS BEFORE PEOPLE THINK MEASLES OR OR EVEN DOCTORS. SO THAT’S THAT’S KIND OF THOSE SYMPTOMS. YEAH. SO LET’S TALK ABOUT WHO IS MORE AT RISK OF GETTING MEASLES. WHO HAS A HIGHER RISK OF OF OF A MORE SEVERE ILLNESS. SO ANYBODY WHO DOESN’T HAVE IMMUNITY TO MEASLES CAN BE AT RISK FOR GETTING IT. BUT FROM A SEVERE COMPLICATIONS PERSPECTIVE, CHILDREN UNDER FIVE ARE AT REALLY HIGH RISK FOR SEVERE COMPLICATIONS. PREGNANT WOMEN ARE AT REALLY SEVERE RISK FOR SEVERE COMPLICATIONS. AND THEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE WITH WEAKENED IMMUNE SYSTEMS. AND REALLY ANYBODY OVER THE AGE OF 20. OKAY. NOW I DID JUST REPORT THAT WITHIN THE LAST 15 MINUTES HERE, WE GOT A REPORT THAT TEXAS HAS REPORTED THEIR FIRST DEATH IN A MEASLES CASE. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE COMPLICATIONS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH MEASLES? PEOPLE CAN BE HOSPITALIZED FOR THIS. SO WHAT ARE THE COMPLICATIONS? HOSPITALIZATION OCCURS IN 1 IN 5 UNVACCINATED INDIVIDUALS. BUT WHEN YOU’RE HOSPITALIZED, PEOPLE CAN HAVE PNEUMONIA. THEY CAN ALSO HAVE SWELLING OF THE BRAIN. IN ADDITION TO PREGNANT WOMEN HAVING PRE-TERM BIRTH, LOW BIRTH WEIGHT BABIES, OR EVEN A BABY THAT’S BORN WITH MEASLES. SO THIS IS A SERIOUS ILLNESS THAT IS, YOU KNOW, TEXAS, NEW MEXICO, THEY ARE DEALING WITH THAT OUTBREAK RIGHT NOW. WHAT ARE THE BEST WAYS TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF MEASLES? SO MEASLES IS SPREAD IN SUCH A UNIQUE WAY COMPARED TO OTHER RESPIRATORY VIRUSES. IT SPREAD THE AIRBORNE ROUTE IS WHAT WE CALL IT INSTEAD OF THE DROPLET ROUTE. SO WHEN THE VIRUS LEAVES YOUR MOUTH, INSTEAD OF FALLING TO THE GROUND LIKE OTHER RESPIRATORY VIRUSES, IT HANGS OUT IN THE AIR FOR TWO HOURS. SO THE REALLY ONLY WAY TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM GETTING MEASLES IS VACCINATION. BECAUSE WE CAN’T USE HANDWASHING AND THOSE OTHER THINGS TO PROTECT OURSELVES WHEN THE VIRUS IS JUST HANGING OUT IN THE AIR. YEAH. AND HOW DO YOU TREAT MEASLES ONCE YOU’VE BECOME INFECTED? THERE’S THERE’S REALLY NOT A SPECIFIC TREATMENT FOR MEASLES. IT’S SUPPORTIVE CARE, YOU KNOW, TAKING CARE OF YOUR SYMPTOMS LIKE THROUGH OVER-THE-COUNTER MEDICATION REST AND HYDRATION. OKAY. AND PEOPLE SHOULD SEE A DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY. RIGHT. OKAY. SO SEEKING MEDICAL ATTENTION IS DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED. WE WANT TO GET YOU, YOU KNOW, DIAGNOSED SO THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, TALK TO YOUR CONTACTS AND FIGURE OUT HOW YOU GOT IT AND TRY TO HELP ANYBODY THAT WAS EXPOSED TO YOU. BUT WHENEVER YOU THINK THAT YOU HAVE MEASLES AND YOU’RE YOU’RE SEEKING MEDICAL ATTENTION, IT IS BEST TO CALL AHEAD AND LET THE HEALTH CARE PROVIDER KNOW YOUR SYMPTOMS AND WHAT YOU’RE CONCERNED ABOUT SO THEY CAN MAKE KIND OF APPROPRIATE PRECAUTIONS ON THEIR END TO PREVENT OTHER PEOPLE FROM GETTING IT IN THE CLINIC BECAUSE LIKE I SAID, IT CAN HANG OUT IN THE HOUR IN THE AIR FOR TWO HOURS AFTER YOU GO INTO THE CLINIC. AND JUST REAL QUICKLY BEFORE WE GO, I WANT TO ASK, I KNOW THAT MEASLES WAS DECLARED ELIMINATED IN THE U.S. BACK IN 2000 WITH THIS OUTBREAK THAT WE’RE SEEING RIGHT NOW, ARE THERE FEARS OR CONCERNS THAT WE COULD SEE A NATIONAL OUTBREAK? WELL, EVERY NOT EVERY YEAR, BUT LAST YEAR WE HAD A PRETTY HIGH YEAR FOR MEASLES AND THERE WAS RISK FOR US TO KIND OF LOSE THAT ELIMINATION STATUS. AND EVERY YEAR THAT WE HAVE THESE BIG OUTBREAKS, THAT RISK IS IS STILL HERE. BUT PUBLIC HEALTH IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORK REALLY HARD TO KEEP OUR ELIMINATION STATUS, WHICH MEANS THAT IT’S NOT CIRCULATING IN OUR COMMUNITIES ON A ROUTINE BASIS. OKAY. A LOT OF REALLY HELPFUL INFORMATION. KENDRA WITH OSD. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING IN. WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND A