BOISE, ID – A child from another country visiting eastern Idaho had measles, local health officials announced Thursday.
But officials don’t expect the public was exposed, besides household contacts who are being monitored for possible infections, Eastern Idaho Public Health announced in a news release. The child, who was not vaccinated for measles, isolated while they were contagious, saw a health care provider, was not hospitalized and is not contagious any more, health district officials said.
The child is visiting Bonneville County, health district spokesperson Brenna Christofferson told the Idaho Capital Sun.
Idaho health officials have not reported any confirmed measles cases in state residents this year, during the nation’s worst outbreak of the highly contagious virus in decades.
Typically, Idaho’s infectious disease reports are based on infections of state residents. Idaho has not reported a measles case since 2023, when an outbreak infected 10 people.
Last week, officials detected measles in wastewater in Coeur d’Alene. That suggests someone in the North Idaho area had measles. State health officials have encouraged doctors to look out for the disease.
In May, a traveler in southcentral Idaho had measles.
What to do if you’re exposed to measles
Measles — which can live in the air up to two hours after someone infected leaves — is highly contagious but rare. Up to 90% of non-immune people in contact with an infected person can become infected.
The virus’s serious complications can include pneumonia, encephalitis (which is inflammation of the brain) and, in rare cases, death. A high fever, cough, runny nose, rash and red, watery eyes are common measles symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, says.
People with measles symptoms should not enter health care settings without calling ahead, and they should contact their health care providers. People exposed to measles should monitor for symptoms for 21 days after exposure.
Vaccination is the best way to prevent measles, health officials say.
But Idaho has a spotty record for measles vaccinations, the Sun previously reported.
There is no antiviral treatment for measles, according to the CDC.
Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com.