Southeast Georgia's Bryan County sees state's second case of measles

Caption

A child’s cheek shows the characteristic rash associated with measles.

Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Over the weekend the Georgia Department of Public Health confirmed Georgia’s second reported case of measles this year.  

The measles case is in an unvaccinated person who recently traveled out of state, and lives in Bryan County, which neighbors Savannah’s Chatham County.  

An email sent to parents in the Bryan County school district said the infected individual was present at Bryan County Middle High School on Feb. 13, but it does not identify the patient as a student.  

Unvaccinated students are being told to stay out of school for two weeks while the local public health department does contact tracing. Parents are advised to watch out for measles symptoms, such as a rash or fever, in their kids.  

Although measles is highly contagious, the risk of vaccinated people contracting measles is very low.  

State public health department spokesperson Nancy Nydam said the agency has spent more than 100 hours on contact tracing so far. 

This is the second measles case on Georgia's coast this year.