RIVERSIDE () — A Riverside toddler was diagnosed with measles despite being up to date with vaccinations, her mother said.
Two-year-old Everleigh Mercado’s mom, Sandra, said her daughter received all her scheduled childhood vaccinations, but still got infected.
“She has her vaccine. I have my vaccine. Everyone in the household has their vaccines. How does this happen?” said Mercado.
She thought it was a cold when daughter started feeling sick on Saturday, three days after she had gone to a community event with about 20 other kids.
Tuesday night, at an emergency room in Loma Linda, Mercado received the official diagnosis.
“The doctors said yes, that’s measles. A rash started on her chest and then on her back, and it just kept going down from her neck all the way. Now it’s like mid-spine,” she said.
Along with the rashes came a great deal of discomfort and pain.
“She’s not eating. She hasn’t had a solid meal in days, because her mouth hurts,” said Mercado.
Breakthrough infections are quite rare. Doctors said Everleigh’s first MMR shot gave her about 91 percent protection. It isn’t until the second shot that’s given between four to six years old that a child will get about 97% immunity.
“If you’ve had the vaccine, it usually is not as bad as it might have otherwise been, and the recovery is usually faster, ” said Dr. Afif El-Hasan with Kaiser Permanente Orange County.
He said since we might see more local cases it’s important to know the signs.
After two to three days, you might see tiny white spots in the mouth.
In three to five days, the measles rash appears.
Up to two weeks after infections, measles can bring fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes.
“The tell-tale sign is red eyes,” he said.
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El-Hasan said no vaccine is 100%, but he said people who choose not to vaccinate risk more infections and exposure.
“It can be spread through drops in the air. So someone coughs and sneezes, and those drops can last in the air for an hour and if you inhale those drops you can get the measles,” El-Hasan said.
Because Everleigh was vaccinated, she is recovering well. But her mom knows it could have been avoided.
“I got her her vaccines just like I was told to, and I did everything I could to keep her safe, but because another parent chose not to do the same thing. Now, my child is suffering,” Mercado said.
El-Hasan said it takes 10 to 14 days for measles to incubate.
People are contagious four days before symptoms and four days afterwards.
Both the mom and the hospital reported this measles case to public health officials.
The Riverside University Health System Department Public Health told Eyewitness News that they have no confirmed cases of measles in Riverside County, but the verification process can take about a day.
Once Everleigh’s case is verified, Riverside University Health System’s department of public health will begin the process of assessing where the patient has been.
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