County Warns of Possible Measles Exposure, Not In Bryn Mawr-Gladwyne

A Montgomery County resident who recently traveled to Nigeria, which is fighting a measles outbreak, may have exposed others in the county to the disease this week, county health officials announced Thursday afternoon.

The infected individual is known to have visited three places, none in Lower Merion, during the infectious period. The Montgomery County Health Department identified the particular locations and times when it is believed that other people may have been exposed to the infected individual:

• 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday in Lower Providence, at Victory Christian Fellowship, 2650 Audubon Road
• 10 p.m. Tuesday to 5 a.m. Wednesday in East Norriton, at the Mercy Suburban Hospital Emergency Department, DeKalb Pike
• 3:50 to 6:10 p.m. Wednesday in Flourtown, at Whitemarsh Medical Services, 1107 Bethlehem Pike, Suite 210 

The Health Department said county investigators and staff from local health care facilities have contacted people who they believe may have been exposed.

The Health Department did not provide the name, age, gender, or any other information about the infected individual. This individual is thus far the only identified case of measles. Officials said there is "no evidence" that the case is related to a recently identified measles cluster in Berks County. 

Measles is a highly contagious virus that resides in mucus in the nose and throat of infected people. When they sneeze or cough, droplets containing the virus spray into the air and contaminate surfaces they contact. These droplets remain "active and contagious" on infected surfaces for up to two hours, the Health Department said.

According to the Health Department, the following groups are at particular risk of measles infection:

• Infants younger than 12 months of age
• Persons who have refused vaccination
• Persons vaccinated against measles with an inactivated vaccine between 1963 and 1967 and who have not been revaccinated
• Some persons born after 1957 who have received only one dose of measles vaccine
• Immunocompromised persons, including organ transplant recipients, chemotherapy patients, and persons with impaired immune systems, such as those with HIV/AIDS
• Persons from areas of the world with circulating measles and/or low vaccine coverage

Symptoms of measles begin about 10 days after exposure and last up to two weeks. A fever that lasts a couple of days is first, followed by a cough, runny nose, and conjunctivitis (pink eye). After two or three days, tiny white spots appear in the mouth. After two more days, a raised, red rash starts on the face and spreads down the body and out to the arms and legs. The rash lasts up to a week.

Anyone who believes they may have been exposed to measles should contact their physician or healthcare provider immediately.

All children attending school or licensed day care centers in Pennsylvania are required to be immunized against measles. Most children are typically immunized against measles by what is known as the MMR vaccine, which is administered between the ages of 12 and 15 months and also protects against mumps and rubella (German measles).