(MILWAUKEE – WTMJ) The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has identified six Milwaukee residents potentially exposed to measles on the flight from Phoenix on January 29.
The City of Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) has reached out to all of those residents, and is also working with airport officials to connect with potentially impacted airport staff.
The initial confirmed exposure happened after an infected person traveled on Southwest Airlines Flight WN 266 from Phoenix to Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, which arrived on January 29 at 10:31 p.m., and impacts individuals on the flight as well as anyone in the airport until 12:31 a.m. on Janaury 30.
Individuals who may have been exposed and are not vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) are still asked to monitor for symptoms until February 19.
So far, MHD has not received any calls from the public of additional exposures.
This news comes after 50 people were quarantined after a Waukesha resident was diagnosed with measles after traveling internationally.
Measles can cause serious health complications, including pneumonia, brain damage, and deafness, and can sometimes become deadly. One in four people who get measles in the United States will be hospitalized.
It is so contagious that if one person gets it, up to 90% of the people around them may also become infected if they are not vaccinated.
Symptoms of measles typically appear approximately 10 to 21 days after an exposure, and include:
- Runny nose.
- High fever (may be greater than 104°F).
- Tiredness.
- Cough.
- Red, watery eyes, or conjunctivitis (“pink eye”).
- A red rash with raised bumps that starts at the hairline and moves to the arms and legs three to five days after symptoms begin.
Health officials say the best prevention for measles is two doses of the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine (MMR), which is 97% effective at preventing the disease.
Wisconsin residents can check if they are vaccinated through the Wisconsin Immunization Registry or contact their health care provider or local health department to see if they or their child has been vaccinated to protect against measles.
