Measles has made an unwanted comeback in Chicago with the city's health department confirming a new case in a Pilsen shelter, prompting a robust response to control the spread of the highly contagious virus. The Chicago Department of Public Health is conducting thorough screenings at the new arrivals shelter located at 2241 S. Halsted St. and dispatching vaccination teams to ensure residents are vaccinated and monitored for symptoms, according to an announcement made Thursday.
"We are marshaling resources from various city agencies and other partners to screen residents at this shelter, getting people vaccinated and providing them with any needed care and guidance, and working to ensure any spread is contained," CDPH Commissioner Olusimbo Ige, MD, MPH, told in a statement obtained by the city's health department. The confirmed case involves a young, non-school-age child who has since recovered and is not infectious anymore, but a probe is ongoing to notify and protect those they may have come in contact with during the infectious period.
Residents of the shelter are asked to stay put until officials confirm their vaccination status. Those vaccinated may continue with their daily routines while those unvaccinated have been advised to remain indoors and await symptom screening. According to guidelines, the quarantine period could extend up to 21 days post-exposure. The shelter's unvaccinated are not only being screened but also provided with an opportunity to receive the measles vaccine on-site.
To ease the burden for those confined to the shelter, the Department of Family and Support Services has stepped up to provide additional meal services, and the CDPH is delivering extra masks and personal protective gear, the department said. While childhood vaccination programs have kept measles at bay in most of Chicago's population, recent increases in cases both internationally and nationwide raise concerns. "Anyone who is not vaccinated against measles should do so," Ige emphasized, reiterating the importance of the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine, available at physicians' offices and pharmacies and free of charge for eligible individuals at city clinics.
This recent case is the sixth in Illinois this year, following a measles-free interval since 2019. Another unrelated case had been confirmed earlier in a Chicago resident with the source yet to be identified. That individual is recovering at home, with the infectious period ending on March 6. Investigations have shown no connection between this case and a previously reported one from an Indiana resident visiting Chicago last month. While the risk remains low due to widespread childhood immunization, health authorities are on high alert to prevent any further spread of the measles virus, which can have severe complications, particularly in babies and young children.
