RICHMOND — A young child in Virginia has contracted measles, representing the third case of the highly contagious diseases in the state this year, the state health department said.
The child is younger than 5 years old, lives in the northwest region of the state and caught the illness after being exposed to another measles case in Virginia. The health department released no other details about the patient.
The child could have exposed other unvaccinated people in the Charlottesville area. Visitors to SugarBear Ice Cream at 1522 E. High Street in Charlottesville on the evening of May 31 could have come in contact with the patient. People who visited Lowe’s Home Improvement at 400 Woodbrook Drive in Charlottesville on the afternoon of June 1 also could have been exposed.
People who have received two doses of a measles vaccine are protected and do not need to take action, the health department said. The vaccine is typically delivered as part of the MMR shot (measles, mumps and rubella) to babies and children.
Infants younger than 1 year are too young to receive the first shot and are susceptible to infection if they are exposed. Those who are unvaccinated and may have been exposed should contact their health care providers, the health department added.
Symptoms can take 21 days to develop after exposure and can include a fever, runny nose, watery eyes and a cough. The second stage of infection includes a rash that starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body.
The first measles case in the state occurred in March, and the patient could have exposed people at Washington Dulles International Airport. The second case occurred in April.
A highly contagious disease, measles spreads through the air when a person breathes, coughs or sneezes. The vaccine is so effective, health officials said in 2000 that the virus had been eliminated in the United States.
But trust in vaccines has suffered in recent years, and an outbreak sprung up in Texas this year, leading to more than 1,000 cases in at least 30 states and three deaths. Virginia has a high measles vaccination rate, with 95% of kindergartners fully vaccinated against the disease.
