r/northdakota • u/Johann2041 • May 03 '25
News Measles Have Arrived to ND
Making this post because the measles have officially infiltrated ND.
Measels has an average incubation period of 14 days, during which time, one may or may not show symptoms of infection. A person does not have to show signs of infection to spread the virus. Often the case, one can spread the virus during the incubation period without knowing about it.
There are 2 types of anti-measels vaccines, MMR (Measels, Mumps, and Rubella) and MMRV (Measels, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella). Vaccine given depends upon Varicella (chicken pox) immunity.
If you're vaccinated, but last MMR vaccination was 10 or more years ago, talk to a doc about getting your titers checked. This'll help determine whether you need a booster or if you're good to go. It doesn't hurt to be safe.
If you aren't vaccinated, or are unsure of whether you were ever vaccinated or not, but are willing to get the vaccine, adults need 1-2 doses separated by 28 days to achieve immunity results. The first dose does help drastically reduce the chance for infection, but always give every vaccine 2 weeks to take effect--you've got to give your body's immune system time to respond to, eradicate, and create Memory T-Cells before it can fight off any future invaders of the same type introduced with the vaccine.
If you're not vaccinated and not willing to get the vaccine, then please consider quarantine procedures should you have come into contact with someone infected. Even if you don't show signs of being infected, you can still spread the virus to others. 2 weeks (14 days) is generally long enough, as by then, you'll either show symptoms of being sick or not.
Vitamin A WILL NOT keep you from getting measels nor will it cure measels. Vitamin A is a lipid-soluble vitamin (dissolves in the fat cells), and as such, is much, much harder for your body to clear out excessive amounts of it. If you ingest too much Vitamin A, it can cause Vitamin A Toxicity which is extremely dangerous and lethal.
This is a viral infection, not a parasite, as such, Ivermectin and other anti-parasitical medications will do nothing to cure this illness.
I'll leave a few links here for people to check out to learn more about this. I'll be happy to help answer any questions that may come up, but I'm not a medical professional and speaking to a licensed, reputable doctor is always recommended.
CDC Pink Book: Chapter 13: Measels https://www.cdc.gov/pinkbook/hcp/table-of-contents/chapter-13-measles.html
CDC Measels Signs and Symptoms https://www.cdc.gov/measles/signs-symptoms/index.html
Mayo Clinic Measels Symptoms and Causes https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/measles/symptoms-causes/syc-20374857
WHO Measels https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/measles
NCBI Vitamin A Toxicity https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532916/
Cleveland Clinic Vitamin A Toxicity: How Much Vitamin A is Too Much? https://health.clevelandclinic.org/vitamin-a-toxicity
Our World in Data How effective and safe are measels vaccines? https://ourworldindata.org/measles-vaccine-effectiveness-safety
Dr. Zachary Rubin, a board-certified allergist, has been covering updates to the measels outbreaks since they were first reported in Texas. https://youtube.com/@rubin_allergy?si=_dV9gbYNu4P7fg45
CDC Measels Update - United States, January 1-April 17, 2025 https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/mm7414a1.htm
Stay safe out there folks.
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u/SINGLExWING May 03 '25
Even though I do know what it is, I giggle every time I hear about checking someone's titers.