According to the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services, there are five new measles cases in Kentucky. Three come from one home in Woodford County and there’s a likely-connected case in Lexington. Woodford Public Health Director Cassie Prather said the three patients in her county began showing symptoms in mid-June and her staff had already begun working with them to identify contacts.
“This does establish that we have an outbreak in our community, even though it's still in the same household, we know that there have been additional cases.”
Measles was declared eradicated in the U.S. 25 years ago, but due to falling vaccination rates, the highly infectious and sometimes fatal disease is making a comeback. Prather said the three Woodford measles patients cited their beliefs as the reason they were unvaccinated. She’s encouraging everyone to check their immunization status.
“The rate of efficacy with the MMR vaccine – measles, mumps, rubella – is around 97 percent, so that's your highest level of protection.”
Prather said the three Woodford measles patients are recovering. The cabinet said a case in Todd County is likely unconnected to the four in central Kentucky.
