People who visited certain locations in York and Hershey in recent days may have been exposed to the measles, according to a health alert issued Saturday by Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health.
Secretary Rachel Levine said a patient in WellSpan York Hospital has a confirmed case of measles, which can be highly contagious. The department on Saturday put out a list of locations and times where the patient had visited to alert residents who may have been exposed.
“WellSpan Health is in the process of notifying patients, staff and visitors who were in either WellSpan Stony Brook Health Center or WellSpan York Hospital during the identified times and areas of the building,” Levine said. “However, if you have been properly immunized against measles, your risk of getting the disease is minimal.”
The potential exposure would affect people who visited the following locations between August 22 and August 29:
- Fuddruckers, 2300 E Market St., York, PA, on Aug. 22 from 5:30 to 8:30 PM;
- Hershey Theater, 15 E Caracas Ave., Hershey, PA, on Aug. 23 from 7:30 PM to 1:00 AM;
- WellSpan Stony Brook Health Center, 4222 E. Market St., Lincoln Hwy. York, PA, on Aug. 26 from 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM;
- WellSpan York Hospital, 1001 S George St., York, PA, on Aug. 26,
- in the proximity of the Lab from 1:30 to 3:45 PM;
- in the proximity of the Imaging Department from 1:30 to 6:30 PM;
- in the proximity of the Emergency Department from 6:15 to 1:45 AM;
- in the proximity of the Imaging Department from 7:00 to 9:30 PM;
- WellSpan Stony Brook Health Center, 4222 E. Market St., Lincoln Hwy. York, PA, on Aug. 28 from 10:45 AM to 2:00 PM;
- WellSpan Stony Brook Health Center, 4222 E. Market St., Lincoln Hwy. York, PA, on Aug. 29 from 9:50 AM to 12:30 PM; and
- WellSpan York Hospital, 1001 S George St., York, PA, on Aug. 29 in the proximity of the emergency room at 11:15 AM to 3:15 PM.
This confirmed measles case is the 14th case in Pennsylvania in 2019, out of more than 1,200 cases that have been reported in the United States this year. That is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1992, according to the state health department.
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 1 to 3 weeks after exposure 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.
Additionally, people who have been previously vaccinated may still be at risk if they were vaccinated with an inactivated vaccine, which was used between 1963 and 1967, and have not been revaccinated; or born after 1957 and have only received one dose of MMR vaccine.
Anyone who believes they might have been exposed and is experiencing symptoms, should contact their health-care provider or call the health department’s toll-free hotline at 1-877-PA-HEALTH.
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