An international traveler possibly exposed others to measles in Virginia

The Virginia Department of Health said Monday that an adult who recently traveled abroad might have passed measles to others in Lorton.

People who were at the Giant Food grocery store in Lorton between 3:30 and 5:45 p.m. last Wednesday, at Inova-GoHealth Urgent Care between 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Friday and at the Inova HealthPlex Lorton Emergency Room from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday were potentially exposed to measles, state health officials said.

Officials did not offer any identifying information about the patient or where and when he or she contracted the disease.

People potentially exposed in Lorton should wait three weeks to see if they exhibit measles symptoms, state health officials said. The most likely period for sickness to begin is between this Wednesday and March 7.

The traveler’s measles case is the eighth in Virginia this year.

Three other measles exposure incidents in northern Virginia occurred last month at Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center in Fort Belvoir, Washington Dulles International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Initial symptoms include fever of more than 101 degrees Fahrenheit, watery red eyes, a runny nose and coughing. Within three to five days of those symptoms starting, a rash appears on a person’s face before spreading to the rest of the body.

Health officials said people born before 1957 and people who have received two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine are considered protected from measles and therefore do not need to get treated if they were potentially exposed.

A single dose of MMR vaccine is considered 93% effective at stopping someone from getting measles, while two doses are considered 97% effective, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.