Health Officials Issue Warning After Measles Case Confirmed in New Jersey

The outbreak began in upper Manhattan and the Bronx, and three of the latest cases were identified on the Lower East Side

Health officials in New Jersey are issuing a measles warning after they say a person confirmed to have the highly contagious illness may have exposed others to it at a funeral home on two occasions earlier this month.

The sick individual may have exposed people to the viral infection at Flynn and Son Funeral Home on Ford Avenue in Fords, Middlesex County, on the afternoons of May 11 and May 14. Anyone who may have been at the funeral home on those days is urged to contact a health care provider to discuss potential risks of exposure and ensure he or she is up to date on vaccinations, health officials say.

Symptoms may not develop until as late as June 4, officials said. Health officials said the individual with measles did not know he or she was contagious while visiting the funeral home those two days.

Measles is a viral infection characterized by a generalized rash and high fever, accompanied by cough, red eyes and runny nose, lasting five to six days. The illness typically begins with a rash on the face and then moves down the body, and may include the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

It spreads easily through the air when an infected person talks, coughs or sneezes. People can also get sick when they come in contact with mucus or saliva from an infected person. Anyone who hasn't been vaccinated or has not had measles in the past is at risk if they are exposed to the virus.

As many as one in three people with measles develop complications, which can be serious and may include pneumonia, miscarriage, brain inflammation, hospitalization and death. Infants, people who have a weakened immune system and non-immune pregnant women are at highest risk of severe illness and complications.  

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