Possible measles exposure at DC-area airports prompts warning from health officials

WASHINGTON - D.C. health officials are warning residents after a case of measles was confirmed in an individual who traveled through D.C.-area airports when returning from an international trip. 

Virginia health officials issued a similar alert after discovering that the person traveled through Dulles Airport on Wednesday, Jan. 3 and Reagan Airport on Thursday, Jan. 4.

Officials say that while the threat of transmission is low, the health department wants to notify anyone who was there about the possible exposure.

"Measles is always a public health concern, because it’s really contagious, it spreads very easily through the air when the infected individual breathes, coughs, or sneezes. So anyone who’s in a shared airspace with that individual or enters the airspace two hours after that person left is vulnerable to contracting measles if they are unvaccinated," Virginia-based vaccine-preventable disease coordinator Meredith Robinson told FOX 5.

They say to watch out for any symptoms that show up before Jan. 25 including a fever of 103°F-105°F, lack of appetite, fatigue, cough, conjunctivitis, bluish-gray spots in the mouth and a rash. 

The rash typically starts at the hairline and then proceeds to the face and upper neck, later spreading down the body and outward to the extremities. 

If you notice symptoms, health officials say isolate yourself immediately and contact your doctor.