CHICAGO — Five infants who attend a suburban Chicago day care center have been diagnosed with measles and about 10 more children, including some too young for vaccinations, could have been exposed to the disease, health officials said Thursday.
The Illinois and Cook County health departments said in a news release that lab tests confirmed measles in two infants who go to the KinderCare Learning Center on East Palatine Road in Palatine. Tests are pending for three others, but they have been diagnosed based on symptoms.
Officials had not identified the source of the infections at the center as of Thursday, but Dr. Terry Mason, chief operating officer for the county's health and hospitals system, told a news conference there is no known link between the infants' measles and a recent outbreak at Disneyland that sickened dozens of people.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there have been at least 102 confirmed measles cases in 14 states in 2015, not including the Palatine cases. Of those 102, 94 were related to the Disneyland outbreak.
Mason said children who have not been vaccinated should not return to the Palatine center until Feb. 24 or until they provide proof of vaccination or immunity to measles, which is spread through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
It's so contagious that 90 percent of people who aren't immunized are infected if exposed to the virus, according to the CDC.
The Illinois cases come amid growing concern about children who are not vaccinated, including in California where lawmakers are hoping to follow the lead of two other states with proposed legislation that would require parents to vaccinate all schoolchildren unless a child's health is in danger.
Health officials do not recommend measles shots before a child turns 1, at which time the government recommends all children get a first dose of the measles vaccine with a second dose between the ages of 4 and 6.
Illinois law requires one dose of measles vaccine for children in day care by age 2, or proof that they already have had the disease. Two doses are required for those entering kindergarten.