Philly health officials warn of a potential measles exposure at the airport and 30th Street Station

Health officials are warning that a person infected with measles traveled through Philadelphia last week, potentially exposing people who passed through several transit hubs last Wednesday to the highly contagious virus.

Officials believe there’s no threat to the general public, Philadelphia Health Commissioner Palak Raval-Nelson said in a statement on Monday.

People who were in the following locations at the following times last Wednesday should check their vaccination status and watch for measles symptoms, officials said:

• Philadelphia International Airport, Terminal A East, from 7:50 p.m. to 11 p.m.

• 30th Street Station from 8:15 p.m. to 11:25 p.m.

• Amtrak Northeast Regional Train Southbound #175, which traveled from Boston to Washington, D.C., and stopped in Philadelphia at 9:23 p.m. People on the train between 9:23 and 11:30 p.m. may have been exposed to the virus.

After traveling through Philadelphia, the person with measles also may have exposed people on parking shuttles at Baltimore’s airport and Amtrak station, according to Maryland’s state health department.

Measles, which spreads through the air when infected people cough, sneeze, or talk, can linger in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area.

People are considered immune to measles if they are born before 1957, have already had measles, or received two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine.

People with immunity don’t have to do anything if they were exposed in Philadelphia last week, health officials said.

People who are not considered immune and were potentially exposed to the virus last week should talk to their doctor about getting an MMR vaccine as soon as possible.

Among them, children under a year old, pregnant people who are not immune, and people with a weakened immune system should call their doctor as soon as possible.

Health officials said that early measles symptoms include a runny nose, a cough, and puffy, red eyes, followed by a rash. The disease is contagious for about four days before a rash develops, and four days after that.

That means that people without immunity who were exposed to

the virus could.....CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.

SOURCE: MSN