Health chiefs in Washington D.C. have confirmed a case of measles in a patient who visited multiple locations while contagious.
The individual traveled throughout the nation’s capital within the last week, including two Amtrak stations and an urgent care center.
Anyone who is unvaccinated, or who got their MMR shots before 1968, and came into contact with the infected person is being urged to contact their care provider.
The patient traveled on a Amtrak Northeast Regional 175 Train Southbound from Union Station on March 19 between 7pm and 11pm.
They then visited the MedStar Urgent Care Adams Morgan on 1805 Columbia Road on March 22 between 7pm and 11pm, local health officials said.
The growing measles outbreak in the US has infected over 300 people, mostly in West Texas, which is more than the number of total cases in the country last year.
It comes at a time of falling vaccination rates and low trust in public health institutions.
At least 95 per cent of the population needs to be vaccinated to prevent outbreaks, under public health guidance
Cold-like symptoms, such as a fever, cough and a runny or blocked nose, are usually the first signal of measles. A few days later, some people develop small white spots on the inside of their cheeks and the back of their lips
The health alert in DC comes weeks after health officials in Maryland confirmed three measles cases in residents who had traveled abroad and passed through Washington Dulles airport.
Those cases were not related to the outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico or Oklahoma.
Details surrounding the DC case have not yet been provided and it is not clear if it is linked to international travel.
