The Cook County Department of Public Health confirmed Tuesday the third case of measles in a Cook County suburb and said people may have been exposed to the disease in a Crestwood Aldi.
Health officials said people may have been exposed if they visited the Aldi store at 4820 Cal Sag Road between 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 24.
The case was identified in a suburban adult whose vaccination status is unknown. Public health officials said they believe the case was acquired from exposure to the last reported case, a 4-year-old, unvaccinated child between 7:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Sept. 11 in Terminal 5 of O’Hare International Airport.
Cook County officials said individuals who may have been exposed should consult their health care provider, as measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease that can linger in a room for up to two hours and said if one person has it, 90% of people close to that person who are unvaccinated will also become infected with the measles virus.
For individuals presenting symptoms, county officials said to call a health care provider before going to medical or emergency office so special arrangements can be made to prevent patients and medical staff from possible exposure.
The health department said it is working to identify and notify people who may have been exposed to the new case. Efrat Dallal Stein, director of communications, said the department reached out to the affected Aldi store, as officials work directly with the public places where the case was identified. As a matter of compliance, Stein said, officials do not identify where the person with the measles lives.
County officials said working with the public health department when infected is crucial to control the spread of measles and said any information provided is kept confidential. They stressed “the importance of accurately identifying people who may have been exposed and providing timely and appropriate information, support and intervention.”
Bill Graffeo, Crestwood services director, said because village officials did not receive direct information from the county but rather from a public online alert during a meeting Tuesday, the village is responding to the news by first getting more answers and verifying the case, including talking with the manager at the Aldi.
Measles can be spread through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. Symptoms can include a rash, high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes and can appear up to 21 days after a person is exposed.
The first case in suburban Cook County this year was confirmed in an adult in late April.
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was reported in a Chicago adult resident who traveled internationally through O’Hare International Airport in early April. That person previously had one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, according to a news release from the Cook County, Chicago and Illinois departments of public health.The disease, according to county officials, is especially dangerous for babies and young children, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems.
Complications from measles can lead to pneumonia, seizures, hearing loss, life-long brain damage and death, according to the county health department.
County officials advised residents to know their vaccination status, as two doses of the MMR vaccine provide 97% protection.
These four measles cases come amid continuing debate over the use of vaccines driven by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who’s overhauled a federal immunization advisory committee that makes recommendations about the use of vaccines.
The federal committee met Sept. 18 and 19 and is scheduled to meet again Oct. 22 and 23.
Officials said people unsure of their vaccination status can talk to their health care provider or schedule a vaccination appointment with a Cook County Health clinic at 312-864-1111.