People who have spent time in Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia recently may have been exposed to measles, health officials are warning.
The Loudoun and Fairfax County health departments say they're alerting people "out of an abundance of caution" that they may have been exposed to a child with measles between April 23 and May 1 at some businesses and medical facilities.
In a large tent set up in a parking lot at Inova Fairfax Hospital on Tuesday afternoon, health workers were testing hospital employees, visitors and others who may have been exposed.
The child contracted the illness while in another country, a spokesperson for Inova Health System told News4. The child was in Inova Fairfax from last Wednesday, April 30, to Monday, May 5, and was diagnosed with measles on Sunday.
The child has been treated and released, and is no longer contagious.
The spokesperson said that health officials are not considering this to be an outbreak, but are conducting a proactive investigation.
The section of the hospital they're focused on concerns six units, which could involve 1,000 people or more. The child was also at local businesses and other medical facilities before being admitted to Inova Fairfax.
Health officials on Tuesday released a list of the dates, times and locations of the potential exposure sites:
- Lotte Plaza, 13955 Metrotech Drive, Chantilly, Va. -- Wednesday, April 23 between 7 and 11 p.m.
- Chantilly Department of Motor Vehicles, 14950 Northridge Drive, Chantilly, Va. -- Friday, April 25 between 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
- CVS Pharmacy, 24795 Pinebrook Road, Chantilly, Va. -- Sunday, April 27 between 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.; Tuesday, April 29 between 3:30 and 8 p.m.
- Inova Dulles South Urgent Care Center and other businesses at 24801 Pinebrook Road, Chantilly, Va. -- Sunday, April 27 between 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
- Harris Teeter, 25401 Eastern Marketplace Plaza, Chantilly, Va. -- Sunday, April 27 between 1 and 4:30 p.m.
- South Riding Pediatrics and other businesses at 25055 Riding Plaza, South Riding, Va. -- Monday, April 28 between 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.; Tuesday, April 29 between 3 and 7 p.m.; Wednesday, April 30 between 3:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
- Target, 14391 Chantilly Crossing Lane, Chantilly, Va. -- Monday, April 28 between 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.
- Home Depot, 25000 Riding Plaza, Chantilly, Va. -- April 30 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
- Inova Dulles South Radiology Imaging Center and other businesses at 24801 Pinebrook Road, Chantilly, Va. -- Wednesday, April 30 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Inova Fairfax Hospital, 3300 Gallows Road, Falls Church, Va. -- between Wednesday, April 30 at 5 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, May 1 in the following units/rooms only: Pediatric Medical and Surgery; Rooms 319 to 322 of Labor and Delivery; Psychiatry; O3 Family Centered Care; Apheresis; Diagnostic Radiology
If you were at one of those locations at the time specified:
- ... and you've had at least one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in the past, your risk of being infected is very low, health officials say.
- ... and you've never received the MMR vaccine, you may be at risk. If you notice symptoms of measles, immediately limit your exposure to others and call your doctor. Make sure to call ahead before visiting your doctor's office or an emergency room, and tell your healthcare provider's office that you were exposed to measles.
Measles is spread through coughing, sneezing and contact with secretions from the nose, mouth and throat of an infected person.
Symptoms usually appear in two stages. First, most people develop a fever of greater than 101 degrees, a runny nose, watery red eyes and a cough. In the second stage (around the third to seventh day), a rash begins to appear on the face and spreads over the entire body.
Based on the dates of exposure listed above, people may develop symptoms in this case as late as May 22, health officials said.
Those with more questions can call 877-275-8343 within Virginia. For more information on measles, go here.
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