By Chris Lundy and Jennifer Peacock
OCEAN COUNTY – The number of suspected measles cases continues to rise in the county.
The Ocean County Health Department said there were 14 confirmed and 16 suspected cases of measles. This is up from 14 confirmed cases and 10 suspected cases on Friday. The range so far for patients has been 6 to 27 years old.
Statistics show that up to 30 percent of measles cases can lead to complications like pneumonia, corneal ulceration, brain scarring or death. Infants and pregnant women are very susceptible to complications.
Only those who have already had the measles or are properly immunized are not susceptible.
People should check their immunization records to make sure they are up to date on vaccinations. If they show signs of measles – fever, rash, runny nose, cough, loss of appetite, pink eye – they should contact their healthcare provider before showing up to the office so arrangements for treatment without exposing others can be made.
People can become ill 5-21 days after exposure to measles. It can be spread through coughing and sneezing and live on surfaces and in the air up to two hours.
For more information, visit ochd.org or phu2.org.