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Health Department: Report of Measles At Hawaii School Was Wrong

Elaine Thompson/AP
FILE -- In this photo taken Wednesday, May 15, 2019, a dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is displayed.

A letter sent out to parents Monday from a Wahiawa elementary school saying a student had the measles was wrong.

State Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo says there is no new reported case of measles in the islands.

She says the false report resulted from parents who believed their pre-kindergarten child had come down with the infectious disease.

A Department of Education spokeswoman said the letter from the Daniel K. Inouye Elementary School was distributed out of an abundance of caution.

Health officials determined the child did not have the measles, and parents received a second letter Tuesday informing them of the finding.

Hawaii has seen four measles cases this year -- three were visitors and one was a resident.

There's been increased vigilance regarding measles since an outbreak in New York earlier this year that pushed the number of measles cases in the United States to its highest level in 25 years. And recently, Samoa reported more than 50 people have died from the illness since late October, most of them children.

The Health Department advises residents to get vaccinated against the measles and to take precautions if they are traveling abroad during the holidays.
 
CDC Flyer On Protecting Against Measles

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