As the measles virus spreads around the country, with Kansas’ first case reported in Stevens County March 13, Sedgwick County health officials are preparing for possible cases. “It’s a matter of time before it reaches Sedgwick County,” Adrienne Byrne, the county’s health department director, said in a March 12 interview. If the measles is confirmed in Sedgwick County, Byrne said the agency is planning ways to educate the public on the virus, which hasn’t been widespread in the U.S. in more than two decades. The measles is a highly contagious virus that’s spread through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The current U.S. outbreak has 301 confirmed cases in 15 different states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There have been a total of three outbreaks reported with the majority of cases being tied to known outbreaks. One child associated with the outbreak in Texas has died. “It is extremely contagious, and it’s a respiratory illness, and it can really can cause life-threatening illness to anyone who’s not protected against the virus,” Byrne said. If cases do reach Sedgwick County, this will be the first time in eight years the county has seen the measles, Byrne said. The last time the county confirmed cases was in 2017, and before that, 2014. “We’ll be sending out information through the medical society, because … the majority of physicians have not dealt with measles before,” Byrne said.
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