MILWAUKEE — The City of Milwaukee Health Department on Friday said the person who tested positive for measles earlier this week is continuing their recovery.
It is the first confirmed case in Milwaukee since 2011.
Milwaukee Health Department commissioner Mike Totoraitus said Friday that they are trying to track the conditions of nearly 600 people because of potential exposure to the disease because of the confirmed case.
The health department is planning a drive thru clinic on Saturday to administer MMR vaccines to those people.
However, Totoraitus believes there is still a low risk to the general public.
“As long as you have had your measles, mumps and rubella shots like most [people] have had, you should have coverage, so there is a low risk to the public of retracting measles,” Totoraitus said. “But individuals that are unvaccinated, they should definitely want to look at their status.”
Dr. Margaret Hennessy is a pediatrician with Ascension Wisconsin. She said she felt nervous and sad after hearing the confirmed case of measles earlier this week.
“I think the biggest thing I would say for anybody who is unsure is talk to your physician. They are going to give it to you straight,” Hennessy said. “We all vaccinate ourselves. We’ve all been vaccinated here and we vaccinate all of our children, so it’s good protection. It’s a safe product. It does not cause any developmental delays.”
For Totoraitus, the good news is that this case isn’t deadly.
“They are outside of their infectious period which is really great and from what I understand, they are recovering and theoretically if they were feeling up to it, they could go back to work at this point because they are outside of the infectious period,” said Totoraitus.
Totoraitus believes it’s important to know that while measles is highly contagious, it is also preventable.