BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – With the first measles case reported in Bexar County earlier this week, some parents are closely monitoring the outbreak.
Roni Benavidez, a mother to a 2-year-old, said it’s something they have been keeping an eye on, especially since they have family in West Texas.
“I am absolutely concerned,” Benavidez said. “That’s because he’s in daycare too. He’s vaccinated. And yeah, I think it’s super important for it for toddlers to be vaccinated.”
Dr. Jason Bowling, an infectious disease specialist with University Health and UT Health, said he agrees.
Vaccination remains the best protection against measles, particularly for the most vulnerable populations, including children under 5 years old.
He said the symptoms to watch for include red eyes, cough, a high fever, sometimes as high as 104 degrees, and then a rash that can start on the hairline.
“People are considered to be transmissible to others from four days before the symptoms start ... the rash starts to four days after the rash starts,” Bowling said. “And that rash is really how we recognize measles.”
Bowling said the first reported case is isolated, but measles remains a cause for concern due to rising numbers nationwide and its high contagiousness.
“If you have somebody that has measles, they’re in a room, they leave the room, those droplets can linger with those viral particles for up to two hours,” Bowling said. “So you could be exposed walking into a room up to hours after someone with measles leaves it.”
Bowling said that 95% of the community must be vaccinated to help protect people who may not respond to the vaccine and those who can’t get vaccinated to achieve herd immunity. Bexar County is currently at 94%.
He said the standard vaccine schedule recommends that children receive their first measles vaccine at 12 months, but some pediatricians will administer it at six months, especially if traveling internationally. He explains that if the mother is vaccinated, that can also help protect babies for at least the first six months.
“We call it passive immunization. So if the mom has antibodies, they can transfer those antibodies to the baby, and the baby is protected,” Bowling said. ”It’s thought that maternal antibodies that are passed on to the baby can last anywhere from three to six months. So you have some protection during that first six months if the mom has antibodies.”
Bowling said the best tool really is the vaccine.
“So as transmissible as measles, our vaccine actually is really important and effective as well. So one dose of the vaccine will give you up to 93% protection, two doses gets you up to 97% protection,” Bowling said. ”And it’s considered lifelong immunity, too, so it’s not like some of these other vaccines that we have to repeat year to year. This vaccine is very durable and very effective in protecting people from having symptoms.”
Resident Dhiraj Jha said vigilance is essential, even if it’s just one case.
“Disease is disease, right? So if we found even a single case, then we should worry about this,” Jha said. ”And we should prevent, and we must be vaccinated to prevent this.”
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