The immunization director at North Dakota Health and Human Services says the current measles outbreak is the first the disease has appeared in the state in fourteen years.
"These were the first cases that we've had reported since our last case which was in 2011."
As of today, Molly Howell says there are nine confirmed cases of measles, all in unvaccinated individuals from Williams County.
Howell says some of the individuals attended schools in Williston while they were infectious. Currently 180 students are isolating for 21 days in an attempt to stop the spread. She says students who did not have at least one dose of measles vaccine were asked to isolate. Howell says measles is extremely infectious, and that 9 out of 10 exposed unvaccinated individuals will develop symptoms.
Howell says vaccination clinics are underway in Williston this evening and tomorrow. She also says HHS has revised immunization recommendations for anyone living in or traveling to Williams County.
"Usually people don't get the MMR vaccine until they're 12 months old. We are recommending that in Williams County, infants receive the MMR vaccine as early as six months of age. And then also, usually the second dose is given at 4 to 6 years of age before kids go to kindergarten - we are recommending that kids get that dose early as well, so they can receive it if it's been at least 28 days since their first MMR dose."
Howell says state health officials have been preparing for potential outbreaks by conducting tabletop exercises with schools, local public health departments and at Health and Human Services. She says fact sheets are ready to go with talking points, the state lab is ready for testing and a dashboard is also ready to keep the public informed.
Howell says MMR vaccines are widely available, so anyone interested is encouraged to speak with their health care providers.
"Vaccinated individuals - so if you have one dose of MMR, it's 93 percent effective, and with two doses, it's 97 percent effective - so it's a really good, effective vaccine. Most North Dakotans are vaccinated, so we don't want them panicking about the situation."