DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — The state of Ohio is five days away from a possible end to its measles outbreak.
The last case of the virus was reported in Columbus on Christmas Eve. If the city makes it to Saturday without another case, the outbreak would be considered over.
85 cases of measles have been reported in Columbus since October. Health officials say the majority of cases involved young children who were not vaccinated for the disease.
“I think that’s great news, that we didn’t see that surge in cases right after the holiday,” Dr. Mysheika Roberts, Health Commissioner of Columbus Public Health, said.
“We just want to keep it up. If we can go a total of 42 consecutive days without a case, we can declare this outbreak over. We’re not there yet. We might be getting close, but we’re not quite there yet.”
Dr. Roberts said this outbreak has highlighted the importance of childhood vaccines in the community.
If there are no new cases in the next five days, the outbreak could be considered over Saturday.
