Already facing a challenging respiratory season, pediatricians in Ohio are now dealing with another foe: measles.
According to statistics provided to ABC News by the Columbus Public Health Department (CPHD), as of Tuesday afternoon, 19 children have contracted the virus.
Nearly half of these children were hospitalized due to severe symptoms of the infection. Almost half were under five years old.
The rate of children requiring hospitalization during this outbreak was nearly double what’s typically seen during measles outbreaks, Dr. Matthew Washam, pediatrician and chief of epidemiology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, told ABC News.