An Oakland County child has been diagnosed with measles, the county’s second measles case this year, with other people possibly exposed Dec. 7 at a Commerce Township hospital emergency room, the county health division announced Dec. 16.
People may have been exposed at DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital’s emergency department between 7:20 p.m. and 11:10 p.m. Dec. 7, according to a health division release.
It said the county’s measles cases have been linked to domestic and international travel. The county reported Michigan’s first measles case of 2025 in March in an adult who had returned from international travel. No additional details were provided about the case involving the child.
There have been 30 cases of measles this year in 10 counties in Michigan, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ online dashboard, which was updated Dec. 16. Three of the counties, Grand Traverse, Montcalm and Osceola, had outbreak cases this year.
The dashboard said 28 cases involved people who were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status, meaning there was no evidence of receipt of a measles-containing vaccine or MMR vaccine 0-13 days prior to measles exposure or symptom onset.
Eleven cases reported international travel, two cases reported domestic travel and 17 cases had unknown or no reported travel, according to the dashboard.
Measles is one of the most infectious diseases. It can live for up to two hours in the air where an infected person coughed or sneezed. The Oakland County Health Division is working with the hospital in Commerce Township to identify people who may have been recently exposed.
Symptoms include high fever; cough; runny nose; red and watery eyes; white spots on the inner cheeks, gums and roof of mouth two to three days after symptoms begin, and a rash that is red, raised and blotchy that usually starts on the face and spreads to the trunk, arms and legs three to five days after symptoms start.
Symptoms usually start seven to 14 days after exposure, but can appear up to 21 days after exposure, the health division said. It recommends calling ahead to your health care provider, urgent care clinic or emergency department if symptoms develop.
County Health Officer Kate Guzman said in the release that MMR vaccination is the most effective tool to prevent the spread of the disease, helping to protect the community’s most vulnerable, including infants, children with medical conditions and those who cannot be vaccinated.
The health division encourages people to confirm they are fully vaccinated against measles with two doses of the vaccine before traveling for vacation, the holidays or attending public events. It said infants age 6 months and older can get the first dose of the vaccine early if traveling internationally or to a place where there is a measles outbreak.
As of Dec. 9, there have been 1,912 confirmed measles cases in the United States, with 92% of the cases unvaccinated or unknown vaccination status, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its latest update Dec. 10. It said 1,888 cases were reported by 43 states, including Michigan. Twenty-four cases were reported among international visitors to the United States.
Of the cases, 11% were hospitalized. There have been three confirmed deaths from measles, according to the CDC.
It said there have been 47 outbreaks reported this year with 88% of the 1,912 cases outbreak-related. The CDC said 16 outbreaks were reported in 2024, with 69% of cases (198 out of 285) outbreak-associated. An outbreak is defined as three or more related cases.
South Carolina is dealing with a large measles outbreak, with 138 cases reported since July 9, with 135 centered on Spartanburg County in the current outbreak, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.
It said some cases are travel-related exposures or close contacts of known cases. Others have no identified source, suggesting measles is circulating in the community there and could spread further. It said it has seen the disease spread quickly in unvaccinated households in that state.
The Oakland County Health Division recommends unvaccinated people ages 1 year and older receive vaccination. People born in or before 1957 are considered immune as they likely were infected as children.
High-risk individuals include those who are pregnant, unvaccinated children under age 5 and those who have a weakened immune system because of illness and disease, including diabetes or HIV, malnutrition and/or medications.
The MMR vaccine is available through health division offices in Southfield and Pontiac as well as some health care providers and pharmacies.
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Oakland County child diagnosed with measles, ER possible exposure site
Reporting by Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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