A potential exposure of measles might have been spread in the Philadelphia area this week, the Pennsylvania Department of Health warned on Friday.
A person likely infected with measles may have exposed others to the disease during a visit to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia and in a nearby CVS pharmacy earlier this week, CBS Philly reported. In 2014, health officials had recorded 20 outbreaks of measles, a highly contagious virus that can spread through coughing or sneezing.
Between 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Monday, a person "who likely has measles may have exposed other people to the disease" at the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia, officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Health said, adding that infected droplets can remain contagious on surfaces for several hours.
A day earlier, the individual may have also exposed people to the virus at a Wayne, Pa., CVS Pharmacy.
Since the virus can incubate for two weeks, it remains unclear whether anyone has contracted the disease from the latest unidentified patient. But health experts are particularly concerned about the person's visit to the museum because many of its visitors may be too young to have had their MMR vaccine, which protects them from the measles.
"We vaccinate children between 12 and 15 months of age," said Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. "There's a lot of time for children from birth to 15 months of age to be susceptible."
When infected, symptoms include a runny nose, watery eyes, cough and a high fever. Four days later, a red rash starts to spread on the face and down the body, which usually lasts four to seven days, according to ABC News. Serious complications can include inflammation of the brain, pneumonia and miscarriages or premature delivery in pregnant women.
The MMR vaccine, which is highly effective, can help prevent infection if it is given within three days of exposure. If it has been more than three days, a dose of immune globulin can provide protection up to six days after exposure, officials said.
But for now, the risk of transmission is low while the Pennsylvania health department is still attempting to determine whether the person suspected of having measles is actually infected, according to department spokeswoman Aimee Tysarczyk.
Meanwhile, the Please Touch Museum did not return calls for comment.
