HARRISBURG – Acting Secretary of Health and Physician General Dr. Rachel Levine today alerted residents of State College Borough, Centre County, that an individual has a confirmed case of measles and visited three local stores, potentially exposing others to the disease.
“If you visited these locations in the late afternoon or early evening of July 7 or 10, please contact your health care provider to determine if your immunizations are up to date,” Dr. Levine said.
“If you have been properly immunized against measles, your risk of getting the disease is minimal. However, if you believe you might have been exposed to measles and experience symptoms, please contact your health-care provider or call our toll-free hotline at 1-877-PA-HEALTH.”
Exposures may have occurred at the following dates and locations in State College:
- Penn State University Hetzel Union Building Bookstore, July 7, from 3:30 p.m. -7 p.m.
- The Lion’s Pride, 112 E. College Ave., July 7, from 3 p.m. – 6:10 p.m.
- Target, 201 W. Beaver Ave., July 7, from 4:50 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. and July 10, from 5:20 p.m. -8:30 p.m.
Measles is a highly contagious but vaccine-preventable disease that spreads through coughing, sneezing or other contact with the mucus or saliva of an infected person. Symptoms typically appear one to three weeks after infection and include: rash; high fever; cough; and red, watery eyes.
According to Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) those most at-risk are:
- Infants less than one year of age who are too young to have received the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine;
- Individuals who refused vaccination; and
- Individuals from parts of the world where there is low vaccination coverage or circulating measles.
Even if you were vaccinated, you may still be at risk if you were vaccinated with an inactivated vaccine, which was used from 1963 through 1967, and have not been revaccinated; or you were born after 1957 and have only received one dose of MMR vaccine.
For more information on measles visit the Department of Health website at www.health.pa.gov or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.