Today Maine announced it’s handling its first confirmed case of measles in twenty years. Unfortunately, there isn’t much information yet to share. Associated Press reports:
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating a confirmed case of measles in Franklin County that it says is related to travel.
The state says the Maine Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory confirmed the case. The last reported case of measles in the state was in 1997.
State epidemiologist Siiri Bennett says the Maine CDC is working with clinicians to identify potentially exposed individuals.
Measles is a highly contagious and dangerous disease that is preventable through vaccines. While we do not know whether the patient is a resident of the state, it’s a pretty big deal that this has happened. Despite lower vaccination rates in other states like Wyoming and West Virgina, Maine has the highest vaccination rate in the country.