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Child Contracts Measles In Fairfield County, Health Officials Say

The Connecticut State Department of Public Health has confirmed that the fourth case of measles has been confirmed this year, this time in a school-age child from Fairfield County.

Health officials confirmed that a Fairfield County child has been diagnosed with the measles.

Health officials confirmed that a Fairfield County child has been diagnosed with the measles.

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"The public health investigation of this case has determined that the child was not infectious while at school," the department said Friday, Oct. 25.

The specific location of the case in Fairfield County has not been released.

Information received indicates that the child contracted measles in early October. The latest case of measles is not related to three previously confirmed cases in Connecticut reported in January and April, the department said.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) said news of the fourth case this year is very troubling. 

"My thoughts are with the child and the family from Fairfield County, right in our own backyard, during this difficult time," he said. "The health of our residents is at stake from a completely preventable disease. It is imperative we remove non-medical exemptions to increase vaccination rates statewide."

According to state immunization records, Fairfield has the highest number of students with exemptions for receiving the vaccine.

As of the last data records, there are 353 student exemptions among the area's 11,000 kindergartners, and 235 exemptions among the county's 13,000 seventh-graders.

A typical case of measles begins with mild to moderate fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, and sore throat. Three to five days after the start of these symptoms, a red or reddish-brown rash appears, usually starting on a person’s face at the hairline and spreading downward to the entire body. 

For more information about measles, please visit www.cdc.gov/measles.

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