Special to the American Press

The Louisiana Department of Health has confirmed one case of measles in New Orleans. The patient is an international visitor who was not fully vaccinated, and was exposed to measles outside of the U.S.

The LDH Office of Public Health is working to identify and notify those who have come into contact with the individual infected.

This is the third measles case reported in Louisiana in 2024.

Measles is highly contagious and can spread rapidly among individuals who have not had the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. Among the measles cases reported in the U.S. this year, nearly half have resulted in hospitalization. In extreme cases, measles can lead to death. The measles virus can be particularly dangerous for babies and young children.

The individual who tested positive is in isolation and has received treatment at a Region 1 (Greater New Orleans) hospital.

Individuals who were at the Ramada by Wyndham New Orleans, 6303 Chef Menteur Highway, on Wednesday, August 7, may have been exposed to measles and are at risk for developing symptoms within 21 days of the exposure date.

What are the symptoms of measles?

• The early symptoms of measles generally appear about 7-14 days after a person is infected.
• Measles typically begins with high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. Two or three days after symptoms begin, tiny white spots (Koplik spots) may appear inside the mouth of a patient.
• Three to five days after symptoms begin, a rash breaks out. It usually begins as flat red spots that appear on the face at the hairline and spread downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. Small, raised bumps may also appear on top of the flat red spots. The spots may become joined together as they spread from the head to the rest of the body. When the rash appears, a person’s fever may spike to more than 104° Fahrenheit.
• After a few days, the fever subsides and the rash fades.