What to Know
- Pennsylvania health officials warned passengers at Philadelphia International Airport they may have been exposed to measles Oct. 2 and 3.
- A person with a suspected case of measles walked through parts of Terminals F and A, and rode on a shuttle bus, on those days.
- Measles is highly contagious but is preventable with the measles vaccine. Anyone properly vaccinated is at "minimal" risk, officials said.
Anyone who visited certain terminals at the Philadelphia International Airport on Oct. 2 and 3 may have been exposed to measles, state health officials warned Friday.
A person with a suspected case of measles walked through the parts of the airport.
Possible exposure locations and times are:
- Wednesday, Oct. 2, in Terminal F from 6:30 p.m. to midnight
- Thursday, Oct. 3, Terminal F from 4:00 p.m. to midnight
- Thursday, Oct. 3, Terminal A from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
- Thursday, Oct. 3, Terminal A/B shuttle bus from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Measles is extremely contagious; the live virus can live for up to two hours in the air where an infected person coughed or sneezed, the CDC said. If one person has measles, up to 90% of people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected.
The disease is contagious four days before its hallmark rash appears, the CDC says.
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However, measles is easily prevented with the measles vaccine. If airport travelers have been properly vaccinated, the "risk of getting the disease is minimal," the Pennsylvania Department of Health said in a statement.
People most at risk from any measles exposure include babies who are too young to have gotten the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine or people who refused vaccination.
The health department added that other people at risk include those who were vaccinated with an inactivated vaccine, which was used from 1963 through 1967, and have not been revaccinated; or those born after 1957 who have only received one dose of MMR vaccine.
For more information about measles, visit the Pennsylvania Department of Health's web page.
