Measles case confirmed in Jersey City

The New Jersey Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control confirm a 1-year-old in Jersey City had measles according to multiple media reports.

A bottle containing a measles vaccine (Photo illustration by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The case is among more than 100 nationwide in 15 states this year, most of them linked with a Disneyland outbreak; it's not known if the Jersey City case is connected. Another 5 students at a daycare center outside Chicago were diagnosed with measles this week as well.

The unidentified baby had not yet been vaccinated against measles. The New Jersey case will likely be added on Monday to the CDC's official tally of outbreaks when they release their weekly update.

ABC 7 reports Christ Hospital in Jersey City is preparing to treat cases of the illness. Symptoms of measles include high fever, a cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes (conjunctivitis) according to the CDC, and generally appear 7-14 days after a person is infected.

The government recommends the first dose of measles vaccine for children aged 12 months to 15 months, with a second dose before the start of kindergarten. The shots are not advised for younger children, mainly because the vaccine is less effective for them. But it can offer partial protection, and the outbreak has led some experts including Tan to suggest that concerned parents discuss possible infant immunization with their pediatricians.

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With the recent outbreaks accelerating the debate over vaccinations, the CDC has taken to social media to promote the effectiveness of the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella) . "How effective is the ‪#‎measles‬ vaccine? One dose of measles vaccine is about 93% effective at preventing measles if exposed to the virus and two doses is about 97% effective," reads a Facebook post. Another post suggests that if you are not sure of your own MMR vaccination status another dose is not harmful.

Most U.S. measles cases in recent years stem from contact with someone who has been abroad, since the disease is still common in many countries. The highly contagious virus was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, but U.S. cases have been reported every year since then, including more than 600 last year.

The CDC says 2014 was a record breaking year for number of reported measles cases with 644 cases from 27 states reported to CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). It is the most number of cases since measles elimination was documented in the U.S. in 2000.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.