WASHINGTON — Passengers on a recent Amtrak Northeast Regional train and at Washington Union Station may have been exposed to measles, according to District of Columbia health officials.
An advisory from DC Health says passengers aboard trip Northeast Regional train No. 175 on Wednesday, March 19, may have been exposed from 7:30 p.m., when the train left New York, to 1 a.m., and at the Amtrak concourse at Washington Union Station between 11 p.m. and 1:30 a.m.
The health agency says those who might have been exposed and are not immune should contact their health care provider, or call DC Health at 844-493-2652 for more guidance. Those who have been exposed and have not had a measles vaccine or a measles-containing vaccine (measles, mumps, or rubella) should watch for symptoms for 21 days following exposure.
More information is available here.
As a physician railfan, I should remind all the interested readers and commentators that MEASLES is a highly contagious disease caused by measles virus. It spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. It can cause severe disease, complications, and even death.
Measles can affect anyone but is most common in children.
Measles infects the respiratory tract and then spreads throughout the body. Symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose and a rash all over the body.
Being vaccinated is the best way to prevent getting sick with measles or spreading it to other people. The vaccine, first introduced in 1963, is safe and helps your body fight off the virus.
Wishing you days with trains but without measles.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Please be informed that “up to 3 in 100 people who get vaccinated for measles may still get sick”. The Amtrak case appears to be one of those very rare cases. Note that “even rare cases of measles among vaccinated individuals tend to involve milder symptoms than unvaccinated cases”.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün