State issues advisory with one confirmed case of measles on Oahu
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A statewide medical advisory has been issued after the Hawaiʻi Department of Health confirmed a case of measles in an unvaccinated child under age 5 on Oahu.
According to state officials, the child recently returned from an international trip with family and developed symptoms including fever, runny nose, cough and rash after arriving back in Hawai'i.
The child is recovering at home, and a household member with similar symptoms is being evaluated for possible infection.
Officials are warning people that might have been exposed to the virus at several public locations including from 10:50 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 30 in the C gates, customs and baggage claim at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport and from 1-7 p.m. April 4 at the Terminal 2 TSA checkpoints and gate area for Delta flight 309 to Atlanta.
The Health Department says flight notifications have been issued to the airlines and airports involved, and officials are also directly contacting individuals with known exposure. According to the state health department, other potential public exposures occurred during an art class at Mānoa Valley District Park and at Queen's Island Urgent Care in Kapahulu.
Measles is highly contagious and spreads through respiratory droplets. Symptoms typically begin seven to 14 days after exposure and include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a rash that spreads from the face to the body.
The health department advises that anyone who visited the listed locations and is unvaccinated should contact their health care provider immediately. Post-exposure vaccination or immune globulin may help prevent illness if given promptly.
Those already vaccinated or born before 1957 are generally considered protected, but people with only one dose of the measles vaccine are being encouraged to get a second dose for full immunity.
In response to Hawai'i's first confirmed case of measles in years, Gov. Josh Green joined Department of Health Director Dr. Kenneth Fink and The Queen's Health Systems Clinical Chair of Pediatrics Dr. Nadine Tenn Salle to issue a call to protect residents through vaccination.
Green also signed emergency rules that allow children with religious exemptions to receive the MMR vaccine while still retaining their exemption to other vaccines and staying in school.
"There's no need to panic -- but there is a need to act," Green said in a statement. "Measles isn't just a rash and a fever -- it's one of the most contagious viruses known. We've already seen what happens when vaccination rates drop: more cases, more outbreaks, more lives at risk. The best thing you can do to protect your family, your community and our keiki is to get vaccinated. It's simple, it's safe and it saves lives."
Statewide, Hawai'i's MMR vaccination rate stands at 89.8% -- below the 95% threshold needed for community (or herd) immunity. Some schools have dangerously low coverage, especially on the Neighbor Islands, according to the governor's office.
"Hospitals and clinics across Hawai'i are on high alert," said Dr. Nadine Tenn Salle, clinical chair of Pediatrics at The Queen's Health Systems. "We're ready to identify and isolate cases, but our best defense is prevention. That means vaccination -- not just for your child, but to protect newborns, the immunocompromised, and others who cannot be vaccinated. This is a community effort, and the medical community is here to help every step of the way."
For more on measles and vaccination, go to Vaccines.gov.