Rhode Island has its first measles case in over a decade, in a young, unvaccinated child who had traveled internationally, health officials said Saturday.
The child is well and has been released from Hasbro Children’s Hospital, where they were treated, the Rhode Island Department of Health said. There was a limited number of other people believed to have contact with the child while they were infectious, and there were no contacts with people at school or day care.
The state’s last confirmed case of measles, a highly contagious virus, was in 2013.
“Measles is almost entirely preventable through vaccination,” said Director of Health Dr. Jerry Larkin in a statement. “Any parent or guardian who has a child at home who is older than a year old and has not been vaccinated against measles should talk to their child’s healthcare professional. For any family with insurance issues or trouble accessing care, RIDOH can make vaccine available at no cost. RIDOH also wants to acknowledge the clinicians and team at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children’s for their swift actions and clinical expertise to mitigate risk to the community.”
Children in Rhode Island are 97% vaccinated by kindergarten, which the health department said was a good vaccination rate.
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