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Health experts encourage vaccination as Iowa sees 50th measles case this year
KCCI • • health
Key Points:
- Polk County Health Department confirmed a new measles case with exposure sites including Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines and grocery stores in Ankeny.
- Dr. Joel Waddell highlighted measles as highly infectious and expressed concern about exposure in hospital settings, where containment is challenging due to limited negative airflow rooms.
- Measles spreads through airborne transmission, and hospitals have limited resources to quarantine infected patients, increasing the risk of spread within healthcare facilities.
- Vaccination is critical, with at least 95% coverage needed to suppress measles, but only 85% of Polk County 2-year-olds are currently vaccinated.
- Health officials warn that measles may continue to spread in the community until a sufficient portion of the population is vaccinated or exposed to the virus.
