Case of measles detected in Bristol County

A case of measles has been detected in Bristol County.

According to a letter sent out by Hawthorn Medical, a person who had been at the facility has been diagnosed with the ailment.

The letter states that the person involved had been at 535 Faunce Corner Road in Dartmouth on Tuesday, March 26th.

Hawthorn Medical has confirmed the letter was distributed.

According to the CDC, the symptoms of measles generally appear about seven to 14 days after a person is infected.

Measles typically begins with

high fever,
cough,
runny nose (coryza), and
red, watery eyes (conjunctivitis).

Two or three days after symptoms begin, tiny white spots (Koplik spots) may appear inside the mouth.

Three to five days after symptoms begin, a rash breaks out. It usually begins as flat red spots that appear on the face at the hairline and spread downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs, and feet. Small raised bumps may also appear on top of the flat red spots. The spots may become joined together as they spread from the head to the rest of the body. When the rash appears, a person’s fever may spike to more than 104° Fahrenheit.

Measles is a highly contagious virus that lives in the nose and throat mucus of an infected person. It can spread to others through coughing and sneezing. Also, measles virus can live for up to two hours in an airspace where the infected person coughed or sneezed. If other people breathe the contaminated air or touch the infected surface, then touch their eyes, noses, or mouths, they can become infected. Measles is so contagious that if one person has it, up to 90% of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected.

If you have any questions you can contact 508-961-0742.

For more on measles and another case of measles in Massachusetts, click here.

Photo courtesy of Alissa Travers