LIHUE — As confirmed cases of the measles have been climbing throughout the Pacific Northwest, health officials in Hawaii say the state is currently in the clear.
LIHUE — As confirmed cases of the measles have been climbing throughout the Pacific Northwest, health officials in Hawaii say the state is currently in the clear.
That’s after the state Department of Health confirmed a contagious family traveled to Hawaii after exposure.
“No other cases reported (and) the family returned to their home state,” said Janice Okubo, DOH spokeswoman. “There is no measles outbreak in Hawaii.”
Officials still haven’t released which state that family traveled from or where on Hawaii Island they were self-quarantined, but the home was in a “relatively rural area where the houses have quite a bit of land around them.”
In the first month of 2019, through Jan. 31, the Centers for Disease Control reported 79 individual confirmed cases of the disease in 10 states — California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas and Washington.
Symptoms of the measles usually start about 14 days after exposure, according to DOH, and may include a high fever, a cough, runny nose, red, watery eyes and a rash.
DOH recommends anyone who suspects they have the measles to call their healthcare provider and isolate themselves.
