Bucks County health officials are warning residents who visited a Newtown Township Starbucks last week to monitor for measles symptoms after a vaccinated adult tested positive for the highly contagious virus.
The Bucks County Health Department said Thursday that the individual, who had recently traveled to Texas, visited the Starbucks at 2896 South Eagle Road between 10:50 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19, while potentially contagious.
Anyone who was at the location during that time should watch for symptoms, including cough, runny nose, red eyes, headache, sneezing and a red skin rash that starts on the face and neck. Symptoms typically appear 10 to 14 days after exposure, county officials said.
Health officials have traced other locations the individual visited and will notify those who may have been exposed.
“Two doses of the vaccine will be 97 percent effective in preventing all illness. However, even though a vaccinated person can still get measles, they are more likely to experience a mild illness and are thus less likely to spread it,” said Buck County Health Department Director Dr. David Damsker. “The best way to hold this virus in check is to have high levels of community vaccination rates.”
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The case comes amid a nationwide rise in measles cases.
As of March 20, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 378 confirmed measles cases across 18 states, including Pennsylvania.
This year has seen three measles outbreaks, which are defined as three or more related cases. Federal officials said the outbreaks have accounted for 90 percent of all confirmed cases.
The CDC noted that there could be more cases, as of last week, but some reported cases had not yet been lab confirmed.
Earlier this month, a Montgomery County boy who was unvaccinated tested positive for measles after traveling in New York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Montgomery County.
Measles is highly contagious, with nine out of 10 unvaccinated people exposed contracting the virus, according to health authorities.
Complications of measles can be severe, especially for children, including pneumonia, brain swelling and death.
The CDC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have issued warnings in recent weeks about the resurgence of measles, an illness once declared eradicated in the U.S.
The MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella, is 97 percent effective with two doses, according to the Philadelphia Health Department.
Children should receive their first dose of the MMR vaccine between 12 and 15 months old and their second dose between 4 and 6 years old. Adults born before 1957 are generally considered immune. Those vaccinated between 1963 and 1968 may require an additional dose. Adults who received only one dose should get a second dose if they are at high risk of exposure or live with someone with a weakened immune system.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, encouraged vaccination for measles recently after years of past comments expressing skepticism and sharing untrue claims about vaccine safety, according to a Time Magazine story.
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