Vials of the measles mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine are displayed in Lubbock, Texas, on Feb. 25. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, file)

Nine cases of measles have been confirmed in Oconto County by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the county public health department, marking the first cases of the year in Wisconsin.

According to a DHS statement released Saturday, one case was found through testing at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, while the other eight were identified through symptoms.

All of the people contracting measles were exposed to a common source during out-of-state travel, DHS said. The department, in coordination with Oconto County Public Health, is working to identify and notify others who may have been exposed to the measles virus.

Risk in the community remains low, according to officials.

Measles is a highly contagious disease that can be spread from person to person through the air and can stay in the air for two hours after a sick person coughs or sneezes, health officials stated. It is so contagious, DHS said, that if one person gets it, up to 90% of the people around them may also become infected if they are not vaccinated.

Symptoms of measles come 10 to 21 days after contact. Some of the symptoms include a runny nose, high fever, and red rash with bumps. One in four people who get measles can end up hospitalized, according to DHS.

Health officials are asking anyone who develops symptoms of measles to stay home and call their local doctor or clinic before visiting.

In recent years, officials have been raising the alarm about a nationwide trend of slipping vaccination rates, especially for measles, among school-age children.

Wisconsin kindergartners have one of the nation’s lowest vaccination rates against measles in the country, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. That raises concerns for the disease taking hold and spreading in an under-vaccinated community.

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that less than 85% of Wisconsin kindergartners were up-to-date on the measles vaccine during the last school year, compared to nearly 93% of kindergartners nationwide.

Wisconsin health officials earlier this year warned that the state was at risk of a measles outbreak similar to an outbreak that occurred in Texas, the Journal Sentinel said.

In that outbreak, 762 cases have been reported since late January and 99 of the patients have been hospitalized, according to Texas Health and Human Services. Two school-aged children, who were not vaccinated and had no known underlying conditions, have died

Wisconsin residents can check their vaccination status by going to the Wisconsin Immunization Registry online at https://www.dhfswir.org/PR/logoff.do.

In Michigan, more information is available at https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/adult-child-serv/childrenfamilies/immunizations/measlesupdates.