KANSAS CITY - Members of the St. Louis area task force that led COVID response are now talking measles.
"Measles is the most contagious virus out there," asys Dr. Alex Garza, Chief Community Health Officer for SSM Health. Garza tells KMOX he'll be using the task force structure for collaboration between providers, systems, clinics and public health departments.
"Just to get an understanding on how prepared everybody is but also to disseminate information and to make sure everybody is on the same page when it comes to who to contact if you have a suspected case of measles and what are the proper steps that need to be taken," Garza tells Total Information AM.
Garza says the incubation period for measles usually lasts 11 to 12 days after exposure. The first symptoms to appear include cough, runny nose, pink eye and fever.
Then two to four days later a rash starts at the head and moves down the body. Someone with measles is typically infectious four days before until four days after the rash starts.
There have been 2 confirmed cases of measles in Missouri so far this year. In Kansas, the total is nearing 50 cases.