7 months ago
WOODBRIDGE, Va. (AP/WUSA) -- The Virginia Department of Health added Potomac Mills Mall to its measles exposure list Thursday.
Earlier this week, state health officials announced that a Prince William County man contracted measles, which is the first confirmed case in the state this year, though there have been five other measles diagnoses in Washington and Maryland this spring.
A list of potential exposure sites -- places where members of the public could have been exposed to the disease by coming into contact with the Prince William county man -- included the 7-11 on Old Bridge Road in Woodbridge and the nearby Tacketts Mill Safeway in Lake Ridge.
According to a statement released by helath officials Thursday, the Against All Odds store and the entrance closest to the store in Neighborhood 3 at Potomac Mills are now considered exposure sites. The exposure date at the mall was April 11 from 12:45 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Health officials say anyone at the exposure sites during those times needs to be on the lookout for symptoms.
People who think they may have measles or may have been exposed to someone with measles should call their local emergency room or doctor's office before seeking care. Public health officials recommend doing this even if you have been immunized.
The local man who contracted measles believed he had been immunized, health official said. The source of the measles virus in the Virginia resident has not yet been identified. Along with the Prince William case, the VDH also announced exposure sites earlier this week in McLean, Falls Church, Fairfax Station and Washington.
On Monday, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments sent out a warning about exposure sites in Arlington County, Montgomery County and Washington.
Measles is a highly contagious illness and health officials are taking precautions to prevent its spread. Initial symptoms of measles include rash, high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes, which can last about a week.
The measles virus spreads through coughing, sneezing, and contact with secretions from the nose, mouth, and throat of an infected individual. The virus can live in the air for several hours after a person coughs or sneezes.
