BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — With three confirmed measles cases in neighboring counties, Brevard County health officials said it's time to make sure your family's immunizations are up to date.
The county health director told Channel that a person can be contagious and exposing others before they even know they're sick. Dr. Heidar Heshmati said it could take four days before symptoms show up.
"We don't want folks to get the measles. It's a very serious disease," he said.
There have been three confirmed cases of the respiratory disease in nearby St. Lucie and Indian River counties.
"Last week, the first case was in St. Lucie County. A 6-year-old child unvaccinated," said Heshmati.
There's no word on whether the two patients in Indian River County were vaccinated.
"Because the kids are very active every day at school and you don't want them to come home with it, so it's important to keep their shots up-to-date to make sure they don't get sick or take ill," said parent Kendra Hall.
With the cooperation of Brevard Public Schools, the Health Department sent a letter home to parents on Monday.
In addition to information about measles was a warning for families who don't vaccinate because or religious or medical reasons. If there was an outbreak, unvaccinated children would be prevented from returning to class for a minimum of 21 days from the last exposure.
The Health Department said notices also went out to area health providers to be on the lookout for measles cases.
LINK: Measles facts
WFTV
