Measles
IMPORTANT UPDATE: On March 4, 2025, a staff member at Wayside Elementary School was diagnosed with measles by an Oklahoma hospital. HOWEVER, the Oklahoma State Department of Health has NOT been able to confirm that diagnosis and has NOT declared a health emergency.
NOTE: The hospital involved was NOT Bartlesville's Ascension St. John Jane Phillips hospital.
Most people in the United States have a low risk for contracting measles due to an effective vaccine.
Measles is passed from person to person by airborne droplets from coughing and sneezing. Measles can also be spread by contact with nose and throat secretions from ill persons, or by touching a contaminated surface. Infected people can spread the virus four days before their rash starts and through four days after the rash appears. The virus can also live up to two hours in the air after an infected person leaves an area.
Symptoms
Symptoms of measles include high fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes, and a red blotchy rash starting on the face then spreading to the rest of the body. Symptoms begin to appear about 7 to 14 days after a person is infected, but it can be as long as 21 days. 2-3 days after symptoms begin, Koplik spots (tiny white dots) may appear inside the mouth. After 3-5 days, a red rash appears, beginning at the hairline and spreading down the rest of the body over the next few days. When the rash appears, a person’s fever may spike to more than 104˚F. Symptoms may last for one to two weeks.
Measles can be serious in all age groups, however, children younger than 5 years of age, adults older than 20 years of age, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems are at higher risk.
If an individual is diagnosed with measles, the state health department will work with the individual to determine when it is safe to return to work/school/daycare/public settings. Usually, an individual can return when they have had a rash for more than four days.
Measles FAQ (Sources: OSDH, CDC)