CHICAGO — Five infants who attend a suburban Chicago day care center have been diagnosed with measles and about 10 more children, including some also too young for vaccinations, could have been exposed to the disease, health officials said Thursday.
The Illinois and Cook County health departments said in a news release that lab tests confirmed measles in two infants who go to the KinderCare Learning Center on East Palatine Road in Palatine.
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Dr. Terry Mason, chief operating officer for the county’s health and hospitals system, explained at a news conference that there is no known link between the infants’ measles and a recent outbreak at Disneyland in California that sickened dozens of people.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there have been at least 102 confirmed measles cases in 14 states, not including the Palatine cases. Of those 102, 94 were related to the Disneyland outbreak.
Mason said children who have not been vaccinated – whether infected or exposed – should not return to the Palatine center until Feb. 24 or until they provide proof of vaccination or immunity to measles, which is spread through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
It’s so contagious that 90 percent of people who aren’t immunized are infected if exposed to the virus, according to the CDC.
The Illinois cases come amid growing concern about children who are not vaccinated, including in California where lawmakers are hoping to follow the lead of two other states with proposed legislation that would require parents to vaccinate all school children unless a child’s health is in danger.
Health officials do not recommend measles shots before a child turns 1, at which time the government recommends all children get a first dose of the measles vaccine with a second dose between the ages of 4 and 6.
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