ST. LOUIS — Health officials are encouraging everyone to make sure they have their measles vaccination, as cases continue to rise across the country, including in Missouri and Illinois.
This is something health officials locally are worried about, even though there are no cases reported in the city of St. Louis, they want to make sure everyone is protected.
Dr. Jessica Smith, a pediatrician at Mercy Chesterfield, said it blows her mind we are seeing measles cases again.
"I actually remember medical school talking about the measles and thinking, 'Well, we're never going to see this,'" she said.
Unfortunately, that's the exact opposite of what's happening now. Measles cases continue to climb in 18 states, including Missouri and Illinois.
According to Suzanne Alexander, the Bureau Chief of Communicable Disease for the city of St. Louis, measles is incredibly infectious.
"It's known that 90% of unvaccinated people who come into contact with measles will become infected themselves," she said.
Right now, there's a total of 121 cases in 18 states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates Missouri has up to 9 cases while Illinois has seen a total of 62 cases, mostly in Chicago.
The problem is so serious the CDC warned if it continues to spread, measles may be taken off the list of eliminated diseases and health officials said that's something that is extremely rare.
"We went 24 years as a country that the World Health Organization declared measles was eliminated, so we'd love to keep that status," Alexander said.
So, how do we keep that status? Doctors said it's all about vaccinations, something that's incredibly low right now, and it's what's causing the spike in this life-threatening disease.
Smith believes those shots have decreased for two reasons. One, misconceptions about the MMR vaccine and two, vaccinations dropped as a whole during COVID-19 and some families haven't caught up.
"It's a very routine vaccine, easy to do, so I think we can worry, but we can also take some action against it," she said.
If you're exposed, Smith said, symptoms can take up to two weeks to show up. Symptoms to look out for are a fever, cough, runny nose, white spots on the mouth and a pink rash.
"We all have a reason to worry about viruses that are spread throughout our state, measles is especially worrisome because it can cause such severe side effects. That being said, we can actively do something to prevent this by making sure that ourselves and our children are vaccinated against measles," she said.
Many of us got our vaccinations years ago and doctors said if you got your shots, that is all the protection you need.
Smith said if you are traveling out of the country, it's a good idea to see what vaccinations are recommended for that area. You can do that here.