Measles case in Jessamine County is tied to revival at Asbury University

A case of measles has been confirmed in a Jessamine County resident who attended the spiritual revival at Asbury University Feb. 18, and Kentucky public health officials warned that people who attended the event that day may have been exposed.

The resident was not vaccinated against the respiratory virus, the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services said in a news release Friday. The state said no other information will be released about the person.

“Anyone who attended the revival on Feb. 18 may have been exposed to measles,” Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health said in the news release. “Attendees who are unvaccinated are encouraged to quarantine for 21 days and to seek immunization with the measles vaccine, which is safe and effective.”

The Jessamine County Health Department said in a Facebook post that it is working with health officials at Asbury to coordinate a measles vaccine clinic next week.

Anyone who might have been exposed at Asbury who develops symptoms was asked to isolate from others and call their “medical provider, urgent care, or emergency department to seek testing,” regardless of whether they have been vaccinated, Stack said.

“Please do not arrive at a health care facility without advance notice so that others will not be exposed,” he said.

The state said it is collaborating with Asbury, the Jessamine County Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“All reported cases of measles are thoroughly investigated in Kentucky,” the release stated.

The Cabinet for Health and Family Services said this is the third case of measles in Kentucky in three months. The first was confirmed in Christian County in December and was linked to an outbreak in Ohio that sickened more than 80 children. The other case was reported in Powell County last month and did not have any known connections to the Ohio outbreak. The state said each of those cases was investigated and determined not to pose a threat to public health.

The CDC says early symptoms can include fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes, and the rash commonly associated with the disease may appear three to five days later.

Measles is very contagious and is spread through the air. The CDC says the virus can stay ”in the air for up to 2 hours after an infected person was there. ... It is so contagious that if one person has it, up to 90% of the people close to him or her will also become infected if they are not protected.”

Measles can be serious, and the CDC says about one out of five unvaccinated people who contract the illness will be hospitalized. Children under 5 years old, adults over 20, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems have a greater risk of complications, the agency says.

Children typically get their first dose of the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella, between 12 and 15 months of age, and a second dose is administered between ages 4 and 6 years.

The Kentucky Department for Public Health said it its working with local health departments to encourage MMR vaccination in areas with lower vaccination rates. Recently released CDC data indicates that Kentucky’s rate of MMR vaccination among Kindergarten students is among the lowest in the nation, according to the release.

Kentucky residents can check their vaccination records through the Kentucky Immunization Registry Public Portal.