Durham County officials: Patient tested negative for measles
A possible case of the measles in Durham County has been ruled out, health officials said Tuesday.
The Durham County Department of Public Health said the measles test of a county resident came back negative.
Officials had warned about possible exposure to the measles last Monday at Bean Traders, a coffee shop at 105 W. N.C. Highway 54, and at The Goddard School, at 5300 Fayetteville Road, last Tuesday.
Dr. Arlene Seña, medical director at the Durham County Health Department, had said initial tests on a person came back positive but needed to be confirmed by a national lab. A false positive could come from antibodies in a person’s blood from receiving a vaccine, she said.
Measles is a highly contagious illness that is spread through coughing, sneezing and contact with secretions from the nose, mouth and throat of an infected person.
"It's so contagious that, if one person has measles, up to 90 percent of [unvaccinated] individuals who are exposed will become infected," Seña said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded 1,044 measles cases in 28 states this year. North Carolina has had no confirmed cases so far this year, but there were three cases last year, all of which were people who had traveled outside the state, she said.
Measles is preventable through the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine. Two doses are recommended for most individuals, with the first dose given at age 12-15 months and the second prior to kindergarten. One dose of the MMR vaccine is 93 percent effective against measles, and two doses of MMR vaccine are 97 percent effective.
