SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – In just the first few weeks of 2024, cases of measles have been reported in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Georgia. Here in South Dakota, the Department of Health has asked medical providers to be on alert for the possibility of measles coming into the state among travelers.

A local doctor is stressing the importance of the MMR vaccine.

“Measles is the most contagious virus that we know of. So when we’re seeing pockets of measles pop up, we already know how effective it is at spreading among un-immunized populations,” Dr. Margo Free, a pediatric infectious diseases physician with Sanford Health, said. “So it really tells us that we need to up our vaccination rates to stop the spread.”

The MMR vaccine protects people from measles, mumps and rubella. Dr. Free says it’s given to children around their first birthday and then again at four to six years of age.

“The MMR vaccine has been used for decades, has been given to hundreds of millions of children and it’s very safe and very effective,” Free said.

Symptoms of the measles include coughing, runny noses and a red, splotchy rash.

“The rash is very characteristic, you can look that up online, the measles rash. It’s quite recognizable,” Free said. “The tricky part about measles is that that won’t show up until day three, four or five. So by that time you’ve been sneezing and coughing for several days and have likely spread it to many other people.”

Free says that’s why the vaccine is so important.

“It’s an illness that can hide pretty easily in our populations, especially when we’re un-immunized or under immunized,” Free said.

Another vaccine is the MMRV vaccine. The V stands for varicella or the chicken pox. Dr. Free says some pediatricians will offer that vaccine to eliminate a child having to get two shots at a time.