The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is alerting residents of a case of measles that was diagnosed in an international visitor who traveled through Boston to Amsterdam using public transportation on Saturday, June 22 while infectious. The traveler was present in public locations that could have resulted in exposure to other people.
Measles is more easily spread than almost any other disease. The virus that causes measles lives in the nose and throat and is sprayed into the air when an infected person sneezes, coughs or talks. It can stay in the air for up to two hours. Other people nearby can then inhale the virus.
“Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease that has seen an increase in cases and outbreaks worldwide,” said Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, MD, PhD. “People who are not vaccinated are at greater risk of infection. The best way for people to protect themselves from this disease is to make sure they are vaccinated.”
DPH urges all those who do not know their measles immunization status to get vaccinated with at least one dose of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine. Measles vaccine given within 72 hours of exposure may prevent measles disease, and vaccination beyond this window will provide protection from subsequent exposures. DPH, local health departments, and healthcare providers are working to contact individuals at high risk for exposure to this traveler. However, exposures on public transportation make identification of high-risk contacts challenging. Those exposed who do not have evidence of immunity to measles may be subject to quarantine for up to 21 days following the exposure.
Early symptoms of measles occur 10 days to two weeks after exposure and may resemble a cold (with fever, cough, runny nose, and red eyes) and a rash occurs on the skin two to four days after the initial symptoms develop. The rash usually appears first on the head and then moves downward. The rash typically…