NORTH DAKOTA – North Dakota saw four new cases of measles over the weekend bringing the state’s total to six.
Five cases have been confirmed in Pembina County and one was found in Williams County. One person has been hospitalized and four people infected are over age 19.
North Dakota’s Health and Human Services department said people contagious with measles went to public places in Fargo, Grand Forks, Cavalier, Colfax and Walhalla recently. Click here for the full list.
Health officials say as more measles cases circulate, communities lose the benefit of herd immunity which is achieved when more than 95% of people in a certain area are vaccinated. They add this puts everyone at higher risk, especially the very young, people who are older, or immune compromised, and those who can’t be vaccinated for other health reasons.
The Centers For Disease Control reports measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000 meaning there wasn’t a continuous spread of disease for one year.
