Health officials have warned of a potential measles outbreak at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
A passenger arriving on an international flight tested positive for the highly contagious respiratory illness, which is currently ripping through the US.
Travelers who were in Washington Dulles’ Terminal A on March 5 and in the baggage claim area during the hours of 4pm to 9pm have been warned that they could be at high risk of the virus.
In addition, patients who visited the Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center Pediatric Emergency Department in Maryland on March 7 from 3:30pm to 7:30pm should also monitor themselves for symptoms.
It marks the third measles scare at US international airports in less than two weeks, with Los Angeles and JFK in New York also seeing infected travelers pass through.
Passengers who fear they may have crossed paths with the patient at Washington Dulles have been advised to confirm if they have been vaccinated against measles.
Experts warn the US is currently vulnerable to measles outbreaks because of falling vaccination rates.
America suffered its first fatality from the disease in a decade recently after the death of an unvaccinated child in West Texas. A second patient in New Mexico is also thought to have died from the disease.
Health officials have warned of a potential measles outbreak at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia
Measles is transmitted by direct contact with infectious droplets or by airborne spread when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes.
The disease causes tiny white spots inside the mouth, flat red spots on the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet, ear infections and an intense fever.
In extreme cases, measles can cause pneumonia, encephalitis (swelling of the brain) and may lead to death.
Health officials say travelers should monitor for symptoms, with these generally developing seven to 21 days after exposure.
Cold-like symptoms, such as a fever, cough and a runny or blocked nose, are usually the first signal of measles before a rash develops.
Exposed individuals who have been free of symptoms for more than 21 days (up to March 11) should no longer be at risk.
So far, 222 cases have been reported by 12 jurisdictions: Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington.
Of these cases, nearly half are in patients aged five to 19 years old.
Data suggests that 94 percent of the patients had not been vaccinated against the virus, while four percent had received only one dose.
So far, 222 cases have been reported by 12 jurisdictions. Of these cases, nearly half are in patients aged five to 19 years old
Texas recorded its first death from measles in a decade at the end of February, in an unvaccinated child.
And New Mexico recorded a fatality from the disease in an unvaccinated adult.
Doctors in the rural community are mostly dealing with measles patients for the first time.
Billboards have been erected in the county warning of the outbreak, and flyers have been handed out.
Some people are also posting in local WhatsApp groups to urge others to ensure they are up to date on their vaccines.
Measles was officially eradicated in the US in 2000 amid a successful vaccination campaign, but is now causing sporadic outbreaks following a drop in inoculation rates.
Vaccine uptake across the US are falling and the MMR jab that protects against measles has fallen below a dangerous threshold
Cold-like symptoms, such as a fever, cough and a runny or blocked nose, are usually the first signal of measles
It is the most infectious disease known, with one patient able to pass the infection on to nine others if they are in a room with ten other people.
About 40 percent of patients are hospitalized in the US, while about three in 1,000 die from the disease after suffering from deadly brain swelling.
Measles is transmitted via direct contact with infectious droplets released into the air by patients when they cough, sneeze or breathe.
Infectious droplets can hang in the air for around two hours, with symptoms emerging within seven to 14 days of infection.
Patients develop a fever, cough, and runny nose, which then develops into a rash that starts at the hairline before spreading to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet.
There’s no cure for measles, with doctors instead using antibiotics to treat related infections and IV fluids. The vaccine is 97 percent effective at preventing an infection and is required for children attending school in some states.
