Three people in Bucks County are suspected of contracting measles, and health officials are warning the public of times and places they could have been exposed.
The public was exposed to these three people at the following times and locations:
- Saturday night, April 30, at the Murder Mystery Dinner at the Peddler's Pub in Peddler’s Village, Lahaska
- Saturday, April 30, between the hours of 11 a.m. and noon at the Parx Casino blackjack tables.
The three probable cases in Bucks County are people who were exposed to French foreign exchange students, the Bucks County Health Department announced Thursday. There is a major outbreak of measles in France right now.
Bucks County Health Director Dr. David Damsker said the two places where people may have been exposed have been safe since the incident and that there is nothing that could have been done to prevent the exposures.
"Those places can't do anything at this point. The person who was there was contaigous while they were there. When they walked out the door soon after, there was nothing for those places to do. The places are safe to go to, they've been safe to go to ever since the event occurred," explained Dr. Damsker.
All three people in Bucks County suspected of having measles were at least partially vaccinated and the suspected cases were not very severe, health officials said.
"None of them had a cough, none of them had any sneezing, so we don't believe they were very infectious," said Dr. Damsker.
Eve Gelman, a spokeswoman for Peddler's Pub said their staff was not affected and that they are not concerned at this time.
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The three likely cases of measles come a week after Camden County Health officials announced a possible case of a man in South Jersey who was exposed to a woman with measles who had recently traveled from Italy.
Most people in the United States are immune to measles, either because they received the measles mumps rubella (MMR) vaccine in childhood, or because they were exposed to measles in the pre-vaccine era (before 1957), officials say.
Infants who are not yet one year of age are too young to have received the MMR vaccine.
Measles is extremely contagious and has no cure. While most people recover easily, it can lead to bronchitis, encephalitis, ear infections, pneumonia, or brain swelling.
Symptoms include bloodshot eyes, cough, fever, light sensitivity, muscle pain, runny nose, sore throat, tiny white spots inside the mouth and a rash that shows up three to five days after the first signs of being sick.
The vaccine for measles is 99 percent effective, but those who are not up to date on this vaccine are highly susceptible, officials say.
