Milwaukee Man Diagnosed With Measles; Details of How Infection Occurred Remain Unclear
By SUSANNE RUST
An adult male from the city of Milwaukee has the measles, city Health Department officials said Wednesday.
Officials could not say how the man became infected or when. However, Paul Biedrzycki, the director of disease control and environmental health for the Milwaukee Health Department, said the man’s case preceded that of another recent case involving a 23- month-old girl from Franklin.
Officials would not comment on the man’s condition. They could not say whether he had been immunized or whether he had been traveling recently.
“We’re still investigating,” Biedrzycki said.
On Tuesday, Health Department officials from Franklin confirmed a case of measles in a toddler.
That child attended day care centers in both Greendale and Greenfield. The child was infectious while at day care during the week of March 24.
Twelve children who attended the Kingdom Care Daycare, connected to the West Layton Assembly of God Church in Greenfield, are being quarantined at their homes until April 18 to make sure they don’t have the disease.
The two cases are unlikely to be related, Biedrzycki said.
Other cases of measles have appeared in the United States in the past few weeks — in Arizona, California and New York. The virus that causes measles spreads easily and rapidly through the air from coughing and sneezing. Symptoms include cold-like symptoms, followed by a red, blotchy rash that first appears at the hairline and then proceeds down the trunk to the arms and legs.
Although rare because of immunizations, measles outbreaks can occur. The disease can cause encephalitis in one out of every 1,000 cases, and death in one out of every 1,000 cases.
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Meg Kissinger of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
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