The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday reported the first case of measles in Maine since 2019.
The case was confirmed at St. Joseph Healthcare in Bangor on Thursday in an adult from Penobscot County who recently traveled to a state with measles cases, according to the CDC.
Twenty one states have reported a total of 730 measles cases this year, according to data compiled by the Center for Outbreak Response Innovation at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. The vast majority of those are in South Carolina, which has confirmed 542 cases.
The person who brought measles to Maine was infectious from Jan. 28 through Feb. 5, according to the Maine CDC. The agency has notified the facilities where potential exposure occurred and is working with them to inform people who may have been exposed.
A spokesperson from St. Joseph on Friday confirmed the patient was treated in Bangor but declined to comment further, citing patient privacy laws.
“We can confirm that appropriate infection-control protocols are in place and that our team is working in accordance with public health guidance to ensure the safety of our patients, staff, and community,” the spokesperson said.
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease. If one person has it, 90% of people close to that person who are not immune will become infected, according to the Maine CDC. It can cause severe sickness including pneumonia, encephalitis (brain swelling), and death.
Symptoms include:
Fever
Cough
Runny nose
Red, watery eyes
Rash that spreads from the head down
People who develop symptoms are advised to contact their health provider for instructions before going to the provider’s office or a hospital to prevent the spread of further infection.
More information is available on the Maine CDC’s measles webpage, the U.S. CDC’s measles webpage, and the Maine Immunization Program webpage.