ALBANY – The state Health
Department announced on Saturday that two tourists from Europe who have
been confirmed to have measles visited a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s
Witnesses in Brooklyn on April 15 and toured two separate Watchtower facilities
in Orange and Putnam counties on April 16 and 17 potentially exposing
others to measles.
The health department said the risk of developing measles is very low
for people who have been vaccinated or are immune.
Anyone who visited the three locations may have been exposed –
• Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 873 New Jersey Avenue,
Brooklyn, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on April 15.
• Watchtower World Headquarters, 1 Kings Drive, Tuxedo Park, between
11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on April 16.
• Watchtower Educational Center, 100 Watchtower Drive, Patterson,
between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The times reflect the period that the infected individuals were in those
areas and a two-hour period after the individuals left the area, as the
virus remains alive in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours.
Individuals are considered protected or immune to measles if they were
born before 1957, have received two doses of measles, mumps, rubella vaccine,
have had measles disease, or have a lab test confirming immunity.
Individuals who are not immune to measles and were exposed are at risk
for developing measles. Those without immunity or who are not sure if
they have been vaccinated should contact their health care provider if
they develop measles symptoms. Those include a fever, rash, cough, conjunctivitis,
or runny nose.
Symptoms usually appear 10 to 12 days after exposure but may appear as
early as seven days and as late as 21 days after exposure.
To prevent the spread of the illness, the health department advises individuals
who may have been exposed and who have symptoms consist with measles to
contact their health care provider, a local clinic, or a local emergency
department before going to care. That will help to prevent others at those
facilities from being exposed to the illness.
Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus that
is spread by direct contact with nasal or throat secretions of infected
people.
Health officials say the single best way to prevent measles is to be vaccinated.
