Measles Case Confirmed In MD Resident: Health Officials

COLUMBIA, MD — A Howard County resident who traveled outside the U.S. contracted the measles, state health officials said Sunday. Passengers at Washington Dulles International Airport and people who went to Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center Pediatric Emergency Department the same days as the traveler may have been exposed.

The Maryland Department of Health and Howard County health officials said a Howard County resident who recently traveled internationally tested positive for measles. The person's age, hometown and other information has not been released.

This case is not associated with the measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico, state health officials said. As of March 7, 198 measles cases have been reported in Texas and 10 cases confirmed in New Mexico. One death has been reported in each state, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As a precaution, state of Maryland and county health officials are coordinating to identify people who might have been exposed, including contacting potentially exposed passengers on specific airline flights.

Anyone who visited these locations on these dates and times may have been exposed:

• Washington Dulles International Airport: Terminal A, on transportation to the main terminal and in the baggage claim area
• March 5, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center Pediatric Emergency Department in Columbia
• March 7, 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Early symptoms of measles are a fever of more than 101 degrees, runny nose, cough, and red, watery eyes. Usually, one to four days after the early symptoms, a red rash appears on the face and spreads to the rest of the body.

Measles symptoms typically develop 10-14 days after exposure to the virus but can develop as soon as seven days and as long as 21 days after exposure. A person with measles is contagious, beginning four days before the rash appears, until four days after the rash begins.

People are generally considered immune to measles if they have had two measles vaccine shots, previously had measles or laboratory evidence of immunity or infection, or were born in the United States before 1957. Those who are most at risk of complications from measles infection are pregnant women, infants less than one year old, and those who are immune compromised.

People in these at risk groups who may have potentially been exposed and are not immune should contact their health care provider or call Howard County Health Department’s Infectious Disease Surveillance and Response Program at 410-313-6284 for additional guidance.

Virginia residents with questions about their potential exposure can call the Virginia Department Health at (804) 363-2704 or email epi_response@vdh.virginia.gov.

People, especially those not vaccinated or otherwise immune to measles, who were at any of these locations during the possible exposure times should monitor themselves for any early symptoms of measles for 21 days after the potential exposure, health officials said.

Anyone who develops a fever or other symptoms of measles should not go to childcare, school, work, or out in public. Instead, they should contact their health care provider first rather than going to a waiting room or emergency room so measures can be taken to prevent spread of the highly-contagious disease.

Measles can remain infectious in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours after an infected individual leaves that area.

Measles cases do occur sporadically in Maryland with one case of measles identified in the state in 2024, one in 2023, and no cases from 2020-2022.