By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

New Jersey health officials are reporting a confirmed case of measles in an Ocean County resident who potentially exposed individuals in Ocean County between July 10 and July 12.

Anyone who visited Congregation Belz, 18 Prague Place, Lakewood, NJ 08701 during the following dates/times may have been exposed to measles:

  • July 10 from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.
  • July 11 from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.
  • July 12 from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.

This is the 17th confirmed case of measles in New Jersey in 2019.

This was a patient who presented with Koplik’s spots on palate due to pre-eruptive measles on day 3 of the illness./CDC

The New Jersey Department of Health recommends that anyone who visited the location listed above during the specified dates/times should contact a health provider immediately to discuss potential exposure and risk of developing the illness. If you have been exposed, you are at risk if you have not been vaccinated or have not had measles. Individuals potentially exposed on these dates, if infected, could develop symptoms as late as August 2.

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Anyone who has not been vaccinated or has not had measles is at risk if they are exposed. “Two doses of measles vaccine are about 97 percent effective in preventing measles,” said Dr. Christina Tan, state epidemiologist.

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Anyone who suspects an exposure is urged to call a health care provider before going to a medical office or emergency department. Special arrangements can be made for evaluation while also protecting other patients and medical staff from possible infection.

Measles symptoms include rash, high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. It can cause serious complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis (swelling of the brain). Measles infection in a pregnant woman can lead to miscarriage, premature birth or a low-birth-weight baby. Measles is easily spread through the air when someone coughs or sneezes. People can also get sick when they come in contact with mucus or saliva from an infected person.

Nationally, from January 1 to July 18, 2019, 1,148 individual cases of measles have been confirmed in 30 states. This is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1992 and since measles was declared eliminated in 2000.