Ave Maria measles outbreak reaches 57 cases

AVE MARIA, Fla. — The measles outbreak at Ave Maria University has expanded to 57 confirmed cases, with seven students still considered contagious, according to the latest campus update.

On Wednesday, students Fox 4 spoke with who have friends affected by the outbreak, described the illness as severe but said their friends are recovering.

"It hits people hard," said Kate Lyons, a student athlete whose friend contracted measles and has since recovered after requiring hospitalization.

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"I know some people who have been hospitalized, some people needed more help than others," Lyons said.

According to the Florida Department of Health, measles symptoms include fever, cough and watery eyes. The measles vaccine is on the recommended list of vaccines for children, which doctors highly recommend.

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Lyons credited the university administration for keeping students informed throughout the outbreak.

"We get emails pretty frequently, keeping us up to date on what's going on," Lyons said.

Andrew Cooper also knows someone who contracted measles during the outbreak.

"I have a couple friends who had it, and got the scars on them," Cooper said.

He said his friend was quite sick for a few days but has recovered. Both students expressed readiness to move past the outbreak.

The Department of Health is scheduled to release updated outbreak numbers Thursday.

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