Mother reveals vaccinated son, 3, caught MEASLES in Chicago outbreak linked to overrun migrant shelter: 'I thought he was dying in my arms'

The mother of a toddler with measles has revealed how she thought he would 'die in my arms' after the little one fell sick with the extremely infectious disease.

Jessica Colleti, from Chicago, said her son Vincent, three, developed a fiery, red, rash on his face in early March that rapidly spread 'all the way down his body'.

Within days of feeling sick, he had a 'super empty' and vacant look in his eyes and almost completely stopped moving and speaking.

'I honestly thought he was going to die in my arms,' she said. 'I just kept telling him that "mommy's getting help, and you're going to be okay".'

'I didn't think that [this] would happen to us. I never would have thought he would come back positive for measles'. 

Vincent is one of around 130 Americans struck with measles this year, amid warnings that falling vaccination rates and surging immigration is leaving America's children more vulnerable to the disease than ever before.

The family, who say their 10-month-old also got sick, do not know where Vincent caught the virus, but they live in the same city as the Pilsen migrant center that is thought to be the source of Chicago's outbreak.

Vincent Coletti, 3, pictured above, was admitted to hospital with measles. His mother said she was worried he would not survive

The above pictures show Vincent's rash as it spread down his chest and onto his arms. It is the small red marks across his body

Migrants pictured at a makeshift shelter in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, where many are being moved to. There has been an outbreak of measles and tuberculosis linked to the shelter

Ms Coletti said she rushed her son to hospital on Monday after a neighbor who was a nurse checked him over, where doctors quickly confirmed the infection.

He spent a night in the ER and received fluids, before being discharged with medications as doctors — with Ms Coletti told to bring him back if he worsened.

At home, he battled a fever of 105F (40C) for five days before finally recovering from the infection.

Ms Coletti pictured with her son Vincent before the diagnosis. It is not clear where he became infected

Vincent had received his first dose of the vaccine against measles, his mother said, but hadn't yet got the second because he was too young. He is said to be up to date on all other vaccines.

The CDC says infants should receive their first dose of the measles vaccine at the age of 12 to 15 months, and their second dose between the ages of four to six years. 

Studies show the first dose is 93 percent effective against the virus while the second is 97 percent effective.

Vaccinated people can still get sick, doctors say, but they have a much milder infection because they already have immunity.

The mother was worried for her young daughter Vanna who was too young to receive any vaccinations against the disease at the time Vincent was diagnosed. 

'I know for our specific case, for my son, I have never seen him sicker,' she told WGN Chicago.

'I had never been more worried, or scared, or tired. From fighting fevers for five days and just trying to figure out how to get him better... I felt like I could not get him better.'

In Chicago, many migrants have been packed into buildings in the Pilsen neighborhood for shelter — which have been completely overrun after more than 25,000 migrants arrived in the city over the past 16 months, including 2,400 who were housed at the shelters. 

A total of 31 measles cases have already been diagnosed at the shelter, while officials also say some residents have tested positive for tuberculosis.

The surge in migrants comes as Chicago continues to pride itself as a 'sanctuary city', or a location where people can ask for aid from city services without revealing their immigration status. Officials also do not ask residents about whether they are legally entitled to be in the US. 

Measles cases have surged in the US in recent months, which has been tied to falling vaccination rates against the virus

Chicago is at the epicenter of the measles outbreak in the US, with 58 cases recorded so far

Ms Coletti said workers at the city's health department had tried to trace her son's infection to the Pilsen migrant center, but had been unsuccessful.

'We weren't by the 12 cases [at the migrant center at the time],' she told WGNTV, 'and they still can't link us to the 12 cases'.

She added: 'I was shocked, honestly, I didn't think that that would happen to us.'

Experts say it is possible for people to catch the disease in many locations because it is one of the most infectious known to man. 

MMR vaccine uptake is below safe target for third year in a row 

Coverage has dropped a further two percent between the 2019-2021 school year to the 2022-2023 school year. 

Dr Claudia Hoyen, a pediatrician at UH Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, told CNN: 'Measles is so terribly contagious. You could be in line at a grocery store with somebody who had measles and catch it and would never know, because the measles virus hangs out in the air for so long.' 

Measles infections are more dangerous for children younger than five years old because they are less likely to be vaccinated and have immature immune systems.

Complications the disease can cause include pneumonia and encephalitis — or swelling of the brain — with the CDC saying up to every three in 1,000 children who are infected die from the disease.

In the current US outbreak, nearly half of patients — 46 percent, or 57 individuals — have been under five years old.

This group has also recorded the highest hospitalization rate, with 65 percent or 37 individuals hospitalized.

For comparison, among those aged 20 years or older there have been 40 cases detected — or 32 percent of the total — and 53 percent, or 21 individuals, have been hospitalized. 

She said: 'He seems much better. He's sitting next to me. He has chocolate on his face, but he is much better.

'I never would have thought we would come back positive for measles, and now I'm just scared and concerned for my 10-month-old.'

Vanna appeared sickly in mid-March, shortly after Vincent's diagnosis, and had tested positive for Covid and adenovirus.

Both Ms Coletti and her husband have been tested and found to have antibodies against measles.

But the whole family had to quarantine for 21 days to minimize the risk of them spreading the disease to others.

He also battled a fever for five days, his mother said, before recovering. She is now worried about her 10-month-old daughter Vanna

MS Coletti also described her son as having a 'super empty' look in his face because of the infection

He is pictured above here after recovering and appearing happier, with Ms Coletti saying he had some chocolate on his face

Dozens of migrant families are seen arriving from Texas at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York in September 2023

They also had to provide a list of where they had been and who they had been in contact with for tracing purposes to avoid any other cases.

As millions of migrants race to come to America under Joe Biden's policies, experts have warned that overcrowded shelters and low vaccination rates in other countries could leave the US vulnerable to outbreaks.

They've said asylum seekers could be bringing infectious illnesses across the southern border and 'open border' policies are leading to drug-resistant diseases. 

And city leaders have said migrants are arriving to their areas in 'disturbing' and 'very very unhealthy' conditions.

Migrants themselves have said illnesses are rampant in shelters because of overcrowding and unsanitary conditions.

Chicago's newest outbreak adds to the growing list across the country, which has seen clusters of tuberculosis, chicken pox and an unidentified illness that killed a five-year-old boy in December.