Bucks County health officials report new measles case, warn local residents of possible exposure

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Health officials in Bucks County are reporting a new case of measles in a resident and are warning other people they may have been exposed to the highly contagious virus last week.

An adult resident tested positive for measles after recently traveling to Texas, according to the county health department, and visited several locations back in Pennsylvania while potentially contagious.

Officials said anyone who visited the Starbucks at 2896 S. Eagle Rd. in Newtown on March 19 between 10:50 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. could have been exposed. They should monitor for early symptoms, including cough, runny nose, red eyes, headache, sneezing and a red skin rash, said county experts.

The health department has completed contact tracing at all other locations where this adult traveled upon returning to Pennsylvania. Officials said Thursday that anyone potentially exposed “will be notified.”

People infected with measles, which spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids or through respiratory droplets in the air, could start experiencing symptoms within 10 to 14 days after exposure, according to the health department.

Anyone who begins to experience symptoms or feel ill should immediately contact their health providers.

Risk of infection or severe illness remains low among people who received the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends for children as young as 12 months old.

The Bucks County adult who tested positive was vaccinated, officials said, but experienced mild symptoms.

“Two doses of the vaccine will be 97% effective in preventing all illness,” Health Department Director Dr. David Damsker said in a statement. “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.”

Earlier this month, health officials in Montgomery County announced they were investigating a case of measles in a local unvaccinated child. Less than two weeks later, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health reported its first case of measles this year in a city resident who had recently traveled abroad.

The local infections come amid a nationwide rise in total measles cases and larger outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico.