KENT COUNTY, Mich. — As spring break comes to an end, health officials in West Michigan are vigilant of measles cases. Two weeks ago, an individual with measles traveled through the Gerald R Ford International Airport, raising concerns among healthcare professionals who are monitoring for potential outbreaks.
“So this is not a new event, that we have measles,” said Jerry Evans, the region six medical director.
Currently, there are 607 confirmed cases of measles across 22 states, including Michigan.
“The problem is that there's less and less people getting immunized, and then we're seeing these localized outbreaks in Texas where groups of people are getting measles, and it's spreading rather rapidly at times,” Evans explained.
So far, two cases have been detected in Michigan—one in Oakland County and the other in Kent County.
“As a disaster preparedness physician, somebody who prepares for disasters, I always think is this the time where it's going to spread? Fortunately, it has not,” Evans added.
Evans helps coordinate with 22 hospitals across 13 counties in the region.
“The goal is to prepare hospitals, EMS, agencies, nursing homes, all healthcare providers in West Michigan, in Michigan, really, for disasters of any kind, and that would include outbreaks of major diseases, as we did with COVID and as we would if measles were to be an outbreak,” he said.
Measles can spread easily.
“If one person with measles walks through a room of unimmunized people, 14 to 16 people could get that disease from that one person just being in the room,” Evans explained.
A spokesperson for the Kent County Health Department indicated that there are no additional confirmed cases at this time, but shared immunization data that shows a decline in measles vaccination rates over the years.
- 19-35 Months: 87.6% (2020) to 72.8% (2025)
- 4-6 Years: 77.8% (2020) to 68.3% (2025)
- 13-17 Years: 87.5% (2020) to 80.5% (2025)
“West Michigan is about 84% immunized against measles. That's the MMR vaccine. The good news with that is that it's not likely to turn into a pandemic as COVID did,” Evans said.
He advises the public to watch for symptoms, including:
“Cough, runny nose, maybe pink eyes, some irritation of the eyes, fever, body aches,” Evans explained.
Then, in three to four days:
“It's a flat rash. It's red, but it's not raised. It's not like, not like pimples or like chicken pox with raised rash. It's, it's a flat rash,” he added.
Evans emphasizes that if individuals suspect they have been exposed to measles, they should call their doctor first. This precaution helps prevent potential exposure to others in medical facilities.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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