Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) –  The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) says an outbreak of measles is being tracked in the east central Illinois area.

Officials say with an outbreak being defined as three or more cases, four cases have been identified in Douglas County. That’s the Tuscola area.  In total, there have been nine measles cases in Illinois this year.

IDPH isn’t specifically saying where the four are or their current conditions, but the state says they’re identifying people who might have been exposed to them.

The state says getting vaccinated is key, becuse they say it has a 97-percent effective rate, but that it was declared eliminated in 2000.

“Illinois is fortunate to have high vaccination rates overall that protect most Illinois residents from measles,” said Dr. Sameer Vohra, IDPH Director, in a news release. “However, there are still areas across the state with lower vaccination rates where people are at high risk. With almost 3,000 cases in the US so far this year, IDPH has been preparing and works closely with local public health and health care partners on strategies to reduce spread and minimize outbreaks. IDPH continues to urge clinicians to be attentive to pre-travel vaccination needs and consider a measles diagnosis in patients with consistent symptoms and alert their local health department immediately if they suspect a case.”

More information about measles is available by CLICKING HERE.