Health Officials Investigating Regional Measles Exposures to DC Residents

Health Officials Investigating Regional Measles Exposures to DC Residents

DC Department of Health is Working to Identify People Who Are at Risk

(Washington, DC) - DC Health was notified of a confirmed case of measles in a person who visited multiple locations in the region while contagious. DC Health is informing people who were at these locations that they may have been exposed.

Listed below are the date, time, and location of the potential exposure sites associated with this case of measles:

• Amtrak Northeast Regional Train 175, from William H. Gray III 30th Street
  Philadelphia, PA to Washington Union Station
  • Wednesday, January 7 from 9:00pm
• The Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center Emergency Department and Executive Medicine Suite, located at 9300 DeWitt Loop in Fort Belvoir
  • Friday, January 9 from 9:30am- 3:00pm
  • Friday, January 9 from 10:00pm to Saturday, January 10, at 12:00am

Measles is a highly contagious illness that can spread easily through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. Measles symptoms usually appear in two stages. In the first stage, most people have a fever greater than 101 degrees, a runny nose, watery red eyes, and a cough. These symptoms usually start 7 to 14 days after being exposed. The second stage starts 3 to 5 days after symptoms start, when a rash begins to appear on the face and spread to the rest of the body. People with measles are contagious from 4 days before the rash appears through 4 days after the rash appears.

What should you do if you were at the above location on the day and time specified?

• People who might have been exposed and are not immune should contact their health care provider or DC Health at 844-493-2652 for more guidance.

• If you have never received a measles-containing vaccine (either the measles, mumps, and rubella [MMR] vaccine or a measles-only vaccine, which is available in other countries), you may be at risk of developing measles. Anyone who was exposed and is at risk of developing measles should watch for symptoms until 21 days following the date of their last exposure. If you notice the symptoms of measles, immediately isolate yourself by staying home and away from others. Contact your healthcare provider immediately. Call ahead before going to your healthcare provider’s office or the emergency room to notify them that you may have been exposed to measles and ask them to call the health department to help protect other patients and staff.

• If you have received two doses of a measles-containing vaccine or were born before 1957, you are protected and do not need to take any action.

• If you have received only one dose of a measles-containing vaccine, you are very likely to be protected, and your risk of being infected with measles from any of these exposures is very low. However, to achieve complete immunity, contact your healthcare provider about getting a second vaccine dose.
• If you have an immunocompromising condition, please consult your healthcare provider if you have questions or develop symptoms.

Measles is preventable through a safe and effective MMR vaccine. Two doses of the vaccine are given to provide lifetime protection. However, infants younger than 12 months of age are too young to be vaccinated. These infants, and others who are not vaccinated, are very susceptible to infection if they are exposed to someone with measles. If you or your child has not yet been vaccinated, call DC Health or a healthcare provider to get the first of two doses as soon as possible. To check your immunization status, call your healthcare provider or contact DC Health.

Healthcare providers should maintain an increased index of suspicion for measles in clinically compatible cases at all times, especially if patients were recently exposed. Measles is an immediately reportable disease. Contact DC Health right away to report any suspected cases and arrange for public health testing. Suspected cases can be reported by healthcare providers via telephone at 844-493-2652 or by submitting a Notifiable Disease and Condition Case Report Form online using the DC Reporting and Surveillance Center (DCRC), which can be found on our Infectious Diseases website dchealth.dc.gov/node/143092

For additional guidance on testing and infection control measures for healthcare providers, visit https://dchealth.dc.gov/page/measles-information-healthcare-providers.

If you have any questions about these potential exposures, please contact DC Health at 844-493-2652 or via email at [email protected]

Additional information about measles: