Three new cases of measles have been reported in
southeastern Wisconsin,
raising the total this month to seven, the Milwaukee Health Department said
Tuesday afternoon.
The latest case was a fifth grader at SC Johnson Elementary
School. According to Stephanie Kratochvil-Hayden, representative for the Racine Unified
School District, the
illness was confirmed late Monday by city health officials, local media sources
reported.
She further said school officials are waiting for directions
from health officials but they want to announce parents and the school staff.
“The health department has not given us any indication that
that was necessary,” Kratochvil-Hayden said. “If they do, then we will
obviously follow their direction.”
School officials said they have no idea whether the infected
student had been vaccinated against the disease. The name of the student wasn’t
released for privacy reasons.
There are no plans to close the school. Instead, school
officials decided to order kids who are not fully immunized to stay home under
quarantine.
Four cases of the measles were confirmed earlier this month in the Milwaukee area. Three were
children who attended the same day care. Until then, Wisconsin had seen no cases of measles since
2005.
The measles starts with cold symptoms, such as cough and
fever. Victims then get a red rash that starts on the head and spreads to the
rest of the body.
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