Friday, July 12, 2024

DC Department of Health is Working to Identify People Who Are at Risk

(Washington, DC) –DC Health has been notified of a confirmed measles case involving an individual who visited multiple locations in DC while contagious. We are informing people who were at these locations that they may have been exposed.

Listed below are the date, times, and locations of the potential exposure sites associated with this case of measles:

• CVS Pharmacy: 2226 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington DC between 10 a.m. and 2 pm Tuesday, July 2.

• LabCorp: 2233 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC between 11 am and 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 2.

Measles is a highly contagious illness that spreads easily through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. Symptoms usually appear in two stages. In the first stage, most people experience a fever over 101 degrees, runny nose, watery red eyes, and a cough, which typically starts 7 to 14 days after exposure. The second stage begins 3 to 5 days after the initial symptoms, marked by a rash that starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body. People with measles are contagious from 4 days before the rash appears to 4 days after it emerges.

What should you do if you were at one of the above locations on the day and time specified?

• If you have never received a measles containing vaccine (either the measles, mumps and rubella [MMR] vaccine or a measles only vaccine which is available in other countries), you may be at risk of developing measles. Anyone who was exposed and is at risk of developing measles should watch for symptoms until July 23. If you notice the symptoms of measles, immediately isolate yourself by staying home and away from others.Contact your healthcare provider immediately. Call ahead before going to your healthcare provider’s office or the emergency room to notify them that you may have been exposed to measles and ask them to call the health department to help protect other patients and staff.

• If you have received two doses of a measles containing vaccine, or were born before 1957, you are protected and do not need to take any action.

• If you have received only one dose of a measles containing vaccine, you are very likely to be protected and your risk of being infected with measles from any of these exposures is very low. However, to achieve complete immunity, contact your healthcare provider about getting a second vaccine dose.

• If you have an immunocompromising condition, please consult with your healthcare provider if you have questions or develop symptoms.

Measles is preventable through a safe and effective MMR vaccine. Two doses of the vaccine are given to provide lifetime protection. However, infants younger than 12 months of age are too young to be vaccinated. These infants, and others who are not vaccinated, are very susceptible to infection if they are exposed to someone with measles. If you or your child have not yet been vaccinated, call DC Health or healthcare provider to get the first of two doses as soon as possible. To check your immunization status, call your healthcare provider or contact DC Health.

Healthcare providers should maintain a high index of suspicion for measles in clinically compatible cases, especially if patients have been recently exposed. Measles is an immediately reportable disease. Please contact DC Health immediately to report any suspected cases and arrange for public health testing. Suspected cases can be reported by healthcare providers via telephone at 844-493-2652 or by submitting a Notifiable Disease and Condition Case Report Form online using the DC Reporting and Surveillance Center (DCRC), which can be found on our Infectious Diseases website dchealth.dc.gov/node/143092

For additional guidance on testing and infection control measures for healthcare providers, visit https://dchealth.dc.gov/page/measles-information-healthcare-providers.

If you have any questions about these potential exposures, please contact DC Health at 844-493-2652 or via email at doh.epi@dc.gov