Breaking News: Vaccination clinic offered in Spencer as measles case reported in Clay County

A case of measles has been reported in a Clay County child. This situation is being treated as an emergency public health threat. Measles spreads easily and can cause serious disease and death. Iowa Department of Public Health and local health officials have identified locations the child visited while infectious and may have exposed people to measles. Those people who have been exposed to measles can be prevented from getting the disease by being vaccinated or receiving immune globulin.

Spencer Hospital Community Health Services, which serves as Clay County Public Health, is holding a vaccination clinic for those who have been exposed and have not been previously vaccinated.

The clinic will be held today, Friday, April 17, beginning at 10 a.m. at the Spencer Medical Arts Building located at 116 East 11th Street in Spencer.

Any individuals, adults and children, who visited the following locations in Spencer at the listed times should check to make sure they have received two MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccinations. Those older than their mid-50s and know that they had measles as a child do not need to be vaccinated.

These are the locations the child visited while infectious:

Wednesday, April 15

Avera Health - Spencer Family Care, from 10:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Friday, April 10

Spencer Fareway Grocery Store from 3:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Saturday, April 11

Spencer Indoor Soccer Complex (Easter Egg Hunt) from 8:30 a.m. - 12 noon.

Spencer Walmart from 7:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 12

The Junction Church in Spencer (services) from 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Spencer Hy-Vee from 11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Longhouse Nursing Home from 12:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Spencer Hospital emergency room from 7:30 p.m. - 11 p.m.

It's important to remember that measles is so contagious it can be transmitted even after the ill person has left the building, or can be transmitted by passing an ill person in a hallway.

If you suspect you or your child may already have symptoms of measles, call your health care provider immediately. Do not go to the doctor's office, ER or walk-in clinic until arrangements are made to be seen by your health care provider in a place and manner that will not potentially expose others to measles.

The symptoms of measles include fever, cough, red/pink eyes, runny nose and a rash. Anyone, regardless of age, who has not had measles or has not been adequately immunized, can get measles if exposed. Most cases occur in unimmunized preschoolers or young adults. Measles can be a serious illness, causing pneumonia, deafness and brain inflammation. Two to three people out of 1,000 who get the disease die of measles. It is easily spread through the air and there is no treatment for the illness so prevention is critical.

For more information about measles, visit:

www.idph.state.ia.us/idph_universalhelp/....