A case of measles has been confirmed in a Montgomery County resident, and members of the public may have been exposed on two occasions, health officials said.
This is Maryland’s first confirmed case of measles since 2019, the Montgomery County Health Department said in a release Friday.
The infected person may have exposed the public to the disease on two occasions, health officials said:
- At the Cabin John Ice Rink in Bethesda on Wednesday, May 24, from 6-9 p.m.
- In a professional office building at 16220 Frederick Road in Gaithersburg on Tuesday, May 30 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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“People, especially those who are not vaccinated against measles, who were at either of these locations during the possible exposure times should monitor themselves for any early symptoms of measles, especially fever,” the release said.
Anyone who was exposed and develops a fever should contact their health care provider. People with any symptoms should refrain from childcare, school, work or other public activities, according to health officials.
Early symptoms of measles are a fever over 101°F, runny nose, cough and red watery eyes.
Health
“Usually, one to four days after the early symptoms, a red rash appears on the face and spreads to the rest of the body. A person with measles is contagious beginning four days before the rash appears until four days after the rash begin,” officials said.
Pregnant people, children under 1 year old and people who are immunocompromised are at heightened risk of complications from measles, officials said. People in those groups who may have been exposed in Montgomery County can contact their health care provider to discuss a medicine called immune globulin, a preventative treatment option.
Measles was declared eradicated in the United States in 2000, meaning the virus is no longer “constantly present” in the country, but there are sometimes cases and outbreaks linked to travel, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Five cases of measles were identified in Maryland in 2019. Virginia officials warned of two possible exposures in Fairfax County last year.
