Health officials have confirmed a second case of measles in Latah County.
The first case was reported Wednesday and involved a child too young to be immunized. The latest case involves a family member of the first child who was partially immunized due to age, according to Public Health-Idaho North Central District. Both subjects were exposed to measles while traveling internationally.
Anyone who was at the Trinity Reformed Church in Moscow on May 26th, or at Gritman Medical Center between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on May 31st in the laboratory and diagnostic imaging departments could have been exposed to the virus. However, health officials say there has been no spread of the virus to individuals in the general public in Latah County or the state at this time.
The cases are the first instances of measles in Idaho since 2001.
Meanwhile, counting the Latah County cases, public health authorities have reported 41 new national cases of the highly contagious and sometimes deadly disease. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there have been at least 1,022 cases of the disease this year as of June 6th, in an outbreak blamed on misinformation about vaccines.
The 2019 outbreak, which has reached 28 states, is the worst since 1992, when 2,100 cases were recorded.
Federal health officials attribute this year’s outbreak to U.S. parents who refuse to vaccinate their children. Thje CDC says the parents believe, contrary to scientific evidence, that ingredients in the vaccine can cause autism.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said last week that vaccines are a safe and highly effective public health tool that can prevent the measles and end the current outbreak. (AP, Idaho Statesman, KFGO)
