Health officials in New Jersey and Michigan are warning travelers who passed through three airports that they may have been exposed to measles following two confirmed cases in international travelers.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday that it had confirmed the state’s first case of measles this year in a traveler from Washtenaw County who recently returned from traveling aboard earlier this month at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
The unidentified patient was later hospitalized and is now recovering, health officials said, adding that anyone who was in the airport’s north terminal customs or baggage claim areas between 2 and 5 p.m. on March 6 should seek medical attention if they develop symptoms of the respiratory disease.
The highly contagious illness typically has an incubation period of 10 to 12 days and usually starts with symptoms of a high fever, red eyes, runny nose and sensitivity to light. A red, raised body rash then follows on the head and face before progressing throughout the body.
“This case underscores the importance of following vaccine recommendations and being up-to-date on vaccines,” Dr. Eden Wells, the agency’s chief medical executive, said in a statement. “Immunizations are the best way to protect our families and communities from the harmful, sometimes deadly consequences of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles.”
A vaccine for measles is very effective if individuals receive two doses, which typically occurs before the start of kindergarten in the United States. In 2017, 118 cases of measles in the UA were recorded, including two in Michigan, state health officials said.
Health officials in New Jersey are also warning people to be on alert after an international traveler with a confirmed case of measles arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport from Brussels, and later departed to Memphis International Airport on Monday.
Anyone who was at the Newark airport between 12:45 and 9 p.m. may have been exposed to the disease and should visit a doctor if symptoms develop.
The warnings follow a similar alert put out by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene last month after an Australian tourist with a confirmed case of measles visited several hotels, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and several health facilities in the city and northern suburbs.
Anyone who might have been near the visitor between Feb. 16 and 21 could have been infected and should see a doctor if they develop symptoms, city health officials announced.
from Health - Google News http://ift.tt/2peXzfG
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