First measles case reported in Alabama since 2002

A child in north Alabama has measles, the first reported case of the illness since 2002, the Alabama Department of Public Health said on Monday. The child is under the age of 5, unvaccinated, and contracted the virus while traveling outside the United States. Measles is a serious viral respiratory illness that lives in the nose and throat mucus of infected people, according to ADPH. It spreads when people breathe in or have contact with virus-infected fluid and can pass through droplets sprayed into the air when someone with measles sneezes or coughs. Symptoms usually appear seven to 14 days later. “Measles follows a pattern in which the child first develops fever, cough, runny nose, and watery/red eyes, then a rash develops,” ADPH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Karen Landers said in a wr