The second measles case in a month has been identified in Philadelphia

A measles case has been identified in a person who visited two locations in the region this week, Philadelphia health officials announced on Friday, urging residents who may have been exposed to ensure they’re protected against the virus.

The case is the second identified in Philadelphia in a month and follows two recent cases of measles detected in Montgomery and Bucks Counties.

The Bucks County case was diagnosed in a person who had recently traveled to Texas, where a widespread measles outbreak is ongoing. The other cases in the region were diagnosed in people who had recently traveled internationally and are not connected to the Texas outbreak.

“We believe there is no threat to the general public because of this case,” Philadelphia Health Commissioner Palak Raval-Nelson said in a statement.

The city has a high vaccination rate against measles, she added, and the department is “hopeful that this case won’t spread further.”

Anyone who visited Pennsylvania Hospital Emergency Department at 800 Spruce St. in Center City Philadelphia between 3:55 p.m. and 11:20 p.m. on Sunday, or the Holy Redeemer Hospital Emergency Department in Montgomery County, between 6:05 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. on Tuesday could have been exposed to measles, the health department said.

The highly contagious virus can linger in the air for hours after a person has passed through a space.

People who visited Pennsylvania Hospital or Holy Redeemer at those times should determine if they’re protected against measles.

The best protection against measles is two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, typically given during childhood.

People born before 1957, who have already had measles, have a blood test showing immunity to the disease, or have written documentation of adequate vaccination for measles are considered protected.

People without protection who visited Pennsylvania Hospital’s ER on Sunday should call their doctors and stay home until April 27 to avoid spreading the virus, health officials said.

People without protection who visited Holy Redeemer on Tuesday still have a chance to get vaccinated and should receive a dose of the MMR vaccine by Friday, April 11. Those who don’t must stay home until April 29 to avoid spreading the virus.

Parents with children under a year old, people who are pregnant and not immune, or who are immunosuppressed and visited either hospital during the exposure window should call their doctor as soon as possible, health officials said.

Anyone who develops measles symptoms, including a fever, cough, runny nose, puffy eyes, and a rash, should call their doctor immediately and tell them they may have been exposed to the virus. They should also notify the health department at 215-685-6740, option 5.

Philadelphia’s measles case comes as an outbreak in West Texas continues to spread, significantly impacting a community with lower vaccination rates. In Texas, 505 people have been diagnosed, and two children, both unvaccinated, have died. Another unvaccinated adult in New Mexico tested positive for the virus after death.

They were the first measles deaths in the United States in a decade.

Amid the outbreak, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, has acknowledged that the measles vaccine protects people from the virus, while also making false statements about their safety.

In a CBS News interview Wednesday, he falsely claimed that the measles vaccine hasn’t been “safety tested” and that it doesn’t offer lifelong protection from the disease.

Mayssa Abuali, the medical director of the city health department’s immunization program, said in a statement that two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97% effective in preventing measles infections — and do provide lifelong protection.

In rare cases, people who are vaccinated against the measles can still contract it — the Bucks County patient with measles was vaccinated — but they usually present with milder symptoms. And the risk of vaccinated people contracting measles rises amid an outbreak like the one in Texas.

Health officials recommend that children get their first dose of the MMR vaccine at 12 to 15 months old, and a second dose at 4 to 6 years old. Parents with children between 6 and 11 months who plan to travel outside of the United States or to an area with an outbreak should talk to their doctors about getting an early MMR vaccine.

Raval-Nelson said that as vaccine rates drop around the country, people who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons are more likely to be exposed to the virus. The region has seen declines in measles vaccine uptake in recent years, with kindergarten vaccine rates in some counties dropping below the 95% threshold that experts say keeps the virus from circulating in a community.

Philadelphia’s kindergarten vaccination rate rose to 94.5% last year after having dropped during the pandemic, and the department reports that about 97% of seventh and 12th graders are vaccinated for measles, mumps, and rubella.

It’s “critical,” Raval-Nelson said, for everyone who can be vaccinated to do so as soon as possible.

The department hosts a number of vaccination resources on its website.

Editor’s note: This story was updated with additional detail on the potential exposure locations.