COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — The Idaho Health Department is warning people living near Coeur d’Alene about a possible measles outbreak after the virus was detected in the city’s wastewater.
The Coeur d’Alene wastewater facility collects samples from thousands of homes in the area and regularly sends them to a lab to test for 20 different diseases. Measles was detected in two of those samples last week.
Measles is a highly contagious viral infection that spreads through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The virus can remain airborne for up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area.
Symptoms typically appear 10 to 14 days after exposure and include high fever, cough, runny nose, red and watery eyes, and a characteristic rash that starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body.
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“Not every community around here tests for this, but I’d like to think that if you’re in a nearby city, if you’re in Post Falls or somewhere nearby, we’re probably a pretty good indication,” said Michael Anderson, wastewater department director for the city of Coeur d’Alene.
The Idaho Health Department says it has been seeing measles outbreaks in other parts of the United States, including Montana, and was anticipating the virus to spread locally.
“We don’t know who it was, we don’t know if it was someone who lives there or maybe they were just passing through,” said Dr. Christine Hahn, medical director of the Idaho Division of Public Health. “This is just one more piece of evidence telling us that measles is around us and we need to be ready and prepared for it.”
Health officials say most people who contract measles will experience cold-like symptoms but recover relatively quickly. However, about 20% of confirmed measles cases result in hospitalization.
“It’s that one in five or that one in ten that gets even a more serious complication that we’re worrying about and preventing disease,” Hahn said. “We recommend vaccination to prevent that.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports there have been more than 1,300 measles cases in the United States so far this year. Of those cases, 92% were either unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status.
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