Measles warning for US travelers after one person with the virus spent two days at a Philadelphia airport
- One person suspected to have measles traveled through the Philadelphia International Airport on October 2 and 3, health officials have warned
- Anyone who took flights to and from the airports A, B and F terminals may be at risk
- Over 1,200 Americans have contracted measles in the US in 2019
- The US barely kept its measles ‘elimination’ status – despite 7 new cases reported in recent weeks
- Most outbreaks began when travelers from other countries with measles outbreaks visited parts of the US with low vaccination rates
People who traveled through Philadelphia International Airport earlier this month may have been exposed to measles, Pennsylvania health officials said on Friday.
Someone who came to the airport on both October 2 and 3 is now suspected to have measles.
Over two million travelers come and go through the American Airlines hub a month, meaning thousands may have been at the airport at the same time as the persons suspected to have measles.
The warning comes after Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials reported another seven cases of measles last week and the US narrowly avoided losing its ‘elimination’ status for the disease amid the largest outbreak since 1992.
Pennsylvania health officials are warning that travelers who flew to or from Philadelphia International Airport (pictured) could have been exposed to a person with measles this month
‘An individual with a suspected case of measles was present in the Philadelphia International Airport on two days and may have exposed many individuals,’ said Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr Rachel Levine said.
‘The Department of Health is working with the county and municipal health departments to notify Pennsylvanians who were on flights with the suspected case, but other individuals may have been exposed at the airport during the identified times.
‘However, if you have been properly immunized against measles, your risk of getting the disease is minimal.’
In all, the person was in three of the airport’s terminals over the course of those two days: Terminals A, B and F.
Since the 2019 US outbreak began in January, the state has seen 15 cases of measles.
More than 1,200 people have been sickened by measles across the nation this year.
The highly-contagious viral infection was declared ‘eliminated’ in the US in 2000.
But this year’s outbreak nearly prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to retract that status.
The vast majority of the US outbreak centered around New York, where the virus spread like wildfire in tight-knit and religious communities like Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jews.
Other outbreaks dotted the nation where similar groups with low rates of vaccination live.
If enough people – between 93 and 95 percent – are vaccinated against measles, a population has ‘herd immunity,’ meaning those who can’t get shots are unlikely to be infected because so many of their community members are protected.
But when vaccination rates fall, this fails.
And because measles has been long-eliminated in the US, patient zero for each of this year’s outbreaks was most commonly a visitor from another country where measles is more common.
For this reason, airports are important locations for high vigilance.
In Pennsylvania, the vaccination rate for both 7th graders and Kindergartners is around 97 percent, suggesting the population is well protected against measles exposures.
But scores of travelers from other locations pass through Philadelphia International Airport every day, so health officials are warning everyone who could have crossed paths with the sickened passenger to watch for signs and symptoms.
The first symptoms of measles – a high fever, cough, runny nose and watery eyes – become apparent between a week and 14 days after exposure.
The hallmark measles rash follows about three to five days after those initial symptoms.
