Health experts encourage vaccination as Iowa records 50th measles case this year

DES MOINES, IA —

The Polk County Health Department confirmed one new case of measles Wednesday, with exposure sites including Blank Children’s Hospital in downtown Des Moines and grocery stores in Ankeny.

“Measles is probably the most infectious and contagious disease on the planet,” said Dr. Joel Waddell, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Blank Children’s Hospital.

After being exposed in the hospital’s waiting room and emergency department on Nov. 8, Waddell said measles was a pressing concern for hospital staff.

“The last place we want someone with measles to be in health care, in a hospital or clinic setting, but it’s inevitable,” Waddell said.

Measles is spread through the air when a person coughs or sneezes. Hospitals can use negative airflow rooms to quarantine patients and limit spread, but such rooms are rare.

“There’s only a handful in any hospital in the United States. And so you can see you can quickly run out of those rooms,” Waddell said.

Juliann Van Liew of the Polk County Health Department stressed the importance of vaccination, saying at least 95% of people need the MMR vaccine to suppress the disease. However, only 85% of 2-year-olds in Polk County have received the vaccine.

“We’re probably in a situation where measles is going to continue to spread until it affects everyone, whether you’re vaccinated or you’re infected with a community-living measles virus,” Van Liew said.

If you were at one of the exposure sites during the specified time period, contact the Polk County Health Department to determine the best next steps.