Health chiefs in Washington D.C. have confirmed a case of measles in a patient who visited multiple locations while contagious.
The individual traveled throughout the nation’s capital within the last week, including two Amtrak stations and an urgent care center.
Anyone who is unvaccinated, or who got their MMR shots before 1968, and came into contact with the infected person is being urged to contact their care provider.
The patient traveled on a Amtrak Northeast Regional 175 Train Southbound from Union Station on March 19 between 7pm and 11pm.
They then visited the MedStar Urgent Care Adams Morgan on 1805 Columbia Road on March 22 between 7pm and 11pm, local health officials said.
The growing measles outbreak in the US has infected over 300 people, mostly in West Texas, which is more than the number of total cases in the country last year.
It comes at a time of falling vaccination rates and low trust in public health institutions.
At least 95 per cent of the population needs to be vaccinated to prevent outbreaks, under public health guidance
Cold-like symptoms, such as a fever, cough and a runny or blocked nose, are usually the first signal of measles. A few days later, some people develop small white spots on the inside of their cheeks and the back of their lips
The health alert in DC comes weeks after health officials in Maryland confirmed three measles cases in residents who had traveled abroad and passed through Washington Dulles airport.
Those cases were not related to the outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico or Oklahoma.
Details surrounding the DC case have not yet been provided and it is not clear if it is linked to international travel.
DC has the lowest vaccination rate in the DMV at around 92 percent of kindergarteners — lower than the 95 percent needed to shut out measles.
In Virginia the rate is 94 percent and 97 percent in Maryland, according to a 2024 report in Education Week.
High vaccine coverage is needed to prevent outbreaks because the virus is so infectious: around nine in 10 unvaccinated people will catch it if exposed.
In response to the emerging outbreak, One Medical, a health provider operated by Amazon, is offering vaccine appointments for those who don’t have immunity.
Boosters are recommended for those vaccinated before 1968 who may have received less effective versions of the vaccine.
There have been 378 measles cases in 17 states so far this year, more than the 285 recorded all of last year.
There has been one confirmed death, in a six-year-old girl in Texas, which was the first measles fatality since 2015. Another death in New Mexico is being investigated.
The MMR vaccine is considered 97 percent effective against measles.
Without vaccination, measles kills around one in 1,000 people it infects due to complications like pneumonia or brain swelling.
The US states with confirmed measles cases so far this year are: Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont and Washington state.
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