SILVER SPRING, Md. — Maryland health officials are warning the public after a person was confirmed to have measles returning to the Silver Spring area at the end of January.
According to the Maryland Department of Health and Montgomery County, the Montgomery County resident recently traveled internationally. Anyone who visited the following areas may have also been exposed:
- Washington Dulles International Airport International Terminal
- Jan. 27th 6 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
- Claridge House at 2445 Lyttonsville Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910
- Jan. 27th 7:30 a.m. - 10 a.m.
- Jan. 27th 6 p.m. - Jan. 28th 1 a.m.
- Jan. 29th 7 a.m. - 10 a.m.
- Suburban Hospital Emergency Department
- Jan. 27th 7 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Health officials say symptoms of measles are a fever of more than 101 degrees Fahrenheit, runny nose, cough, and red, watery eyes. Usually, one to four days after the early symptoms, a red rash appears on the face and spreads to the rest of the body.
"People are generally considered immune to measles if they have had two measles vaccine shots, previously had measles or laboratory evidence of immunity or infection, or were born in the United States before 1957," health officials said in a press release Thursday night. " Those who are most at risk of complications from measles infection are pregnant women, infants less than one-year-old, and those who are immune compromised."
High-risk people who may have been exposed should contact their healthcare provider or call Montgomery County Health and Human Services’ Disease Control Office at 240-777-1755 for additional guidance.
Measles symptoms typically develop 10-14 days after exposure to the virus but can develop as soon as seven days and as long as 21 days after exposure. A person with measles is contagious, beginning four days before the rash appears until four days after the rash begins.
Those who were exposed, especially unvaccinated residents or otherwise immune to measles, should monitor themselves for any symptoms for 21 days after the exposure. People who develop a fever or other symptoms of measles should not go to childcare, school, work or out in public, and should contact their health care provider.
"They should call their healthcare provider first before showing up in the waiting room so that the office can take measures to prevent spread to other patients," health officials said.
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