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New Mexico reaches 100 measles cases after 3 reported in Santa Fe County
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Measles cases have officially hit triple digits in New Mexico, according to state health officials.
On Thursday, the New Mexico Department of Health announced that the state has recorded more than 100 cases of measles after three Santa Fe County residents were diagnosed with the disease.
Of the cases, one resulted in death after an unvaccinated Lea County resident contracted pneumonia related to the disease.
In the Santa Fe County cases, two were adults and one was a child, all of whom were unvaccinated.
From Feb. 1 to Aug. 13, more than 48,000 New Mexicans have received the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine. Nearly 28,000 vaccinations were given to children under the age of 18.
“We remain grateful New Mexicans continue to get their measles vaccination in an effort to slow the spread of the virus,” Dr. Miranda Durham, state Department of Health chief medical officer, said in a news release. “Without that, measles outbreaks are more likely to last longer and grow over time.”
A person with measles is contagious four days before a rash appears and remains contagious for several days, according to the Department of Health. In enclosed sp aces, the virus can remain in the air for two hours after a person who has the illness has left.
Symptoms begin with a cough, runny nose and eye redness, followed by a fever and rash, which starts on the head before spreading down the body, the health department says.
