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2nd case of measles confirmed in Michigan; caught from the 1st person

Posted at 3:32 PM, Apr 14, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-14 15:32:23-04

LANSING, Mich. – A second case of measles has been confirmed in Michigan, and is directly connected to the first one.

The first case was announced last monthby the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The department says the second case is in an adult who was a passenger on the same flight as the first case.  That first person had traveled internationally and is thought to have contracted the disease in another country.

“This underscores the importance of routine vaccination for both children and adults, and of making certain as many Michiganders as possible have protective immunity against measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases,” said Dr. Eden Wells, chief medical executive for MDHHS in a press release. “Measles is highly contagious, and though it is generally a rare disease in the United States – in fact it was eliminated from the country in 2000 – it shows up every year as a result of travel to other parts of the world where it continues to be a common illness.”