Hide Transcript Show Transcript OWNER. AT THIS POINT, NO ARREST HAS BEEN MADE. BRITTANY: MEASLES CASES SPIKED TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE THE DISEASE WAS DECLARED ELIMINATED, AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE THREAT IS CREEPING CLOSER TO ALABAMA. HEALTH OFFICIALS IN NEW YORK AND CALIFORNIA CONFIRMED DOZENS OF NEW CASES, BRINGING THE NATIONAL TOTAL TO AN ESTIMATED 671 CASES SO FAR THIS YEAR THAT SURPASSES THE PREVIOUS HIGHEST NUMBER OF CASES OF 667 IN 2014. HEALTH OFFICIALS IN TENNESSEE TOLD THE ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH SOMEONE WITH A CONFIRMED CASE OF THE MEASLES TRAVELED THROUGH ALABAMA ALMOST TWO WEEKS AGO. THAT PERSON MADE STOPS AT THE D AND J TRAVEL PLAZA IN LIVINGSTON, AND THE CHICK-FIL-A IN FORT PAYNE ON APRIL 11. OFFICIALS SAY THE STOPS WE Advertisement ADPH: Person with measles possibly exposed others while traveling through Alabama Share Shares Copy Link Copy The Tennessee Department of Health reported to Alabama health officials on Tuesday that an individual with a confirmed measles case traveled through Alabama on April 11 and made two stops during the infectious period. Persons should check their vaccine history for vaccination with measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Two doses of vaccine provide up to in 97 percent effectiveness to prevent measles. While measles vaccine given to unvaccinated persons within 72 hours of exposure can prevent disease, it is still appropriate for any unvaccinated person to receive MMR regardless of time of exposure. On April 11, the person later found to have measles stopped at D & J Travel Plaza, 651 Highway 28, W, Livingston, at 2:20 p.m. to purchase food and gas. Then at 5:54 p.m., the person entered at Chick-fil-A, 1824 Glenn Blvd. SW, Fort Payne, to order food.Measles is a serious viral respiratory illness that lives in the nose and throat mucus of infected people. A single case of measles will infect up to 95 percent of unvaccinated people who are exposed. “If you suspect you were exposed, it is important for you to call your healthcare provider before being seen in his or her office, follow instructions for reporting, and practice social isolation if you develop any of the signs and symptoms of measles,” said State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris.Symptoms of measles appear 7 to 14 days after a person is infected. Common early symptoms include: High fever, up to 105 degreesCoughRunny noseRed or watery eyesTwo to three days after symptoms begin, an infected person may have tiny white spots appear inside of the mouth.Three to five days after symptoms begin, the infected person could also have:A rash of flat red spots appear on the face and spread to the neck, chest, arms, legs and feet.Small raised bumps may appear on the flat red spots.Look for more updates here and on WVTM 13 News. Grab the WVTM 13 News app and follow this developing story.<doc-sep>Measles cases have now been reported in Georgia, Florida and Tennessee and the disease is likely to spread to Alabama, according to health officials. The Centers for Disease Control said 626 cases of measles have been reported in 22 states, with concentrated outbreaks among unvaccinated populations in New York City and Rockland County, New York; Washington state; New Jersey; Michigan; and Butte County, California. No cases have been reported in Alabama but it is unlikely the state will escape the disease, officials said. “We’re likely to have one or more cases here in Alabama,” William Curry, M.D., Senior VP for Population Health, UAB, said Monday. “It is a very infectious and effective virus. Once it gets started in a vulnerable population it will spread quickly. If we have neighborhoods of people who are not immunized and we are likely to see more than one case.” Officials are urging people to receive vaccinations against measles and, if they are concerned their vaccine is no longer effective, to have a blood test performed by their doctor. The vaccine is 97 percent effective against the disease. Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, almost 40 years after the first live measles vaccine was licensed. In the decade before the vaccinations, an average of 549,000 measles cases and 495 measles deaths were reported annually in the U.S. Since 2000, the annual number of cases has ranged from a low of 37 in 2004 to a high of 667 in 2014, with 2019 on pace to top that number. You can see information on the symptoms of measles here.<doc-sep>
A person with a confirmed case of measles traveled through Alabama on April 11, making two stops that could have exposed others to the virus, officials with the Alabama Department of Public Health announced. ADPH was advised of the issue Wednesday by the Tennessee Department of Public Health. The person made two stops in Alabama: D&J Travel Plaza in Livingston at 2:30 p.m. to purchase food and gas; and Chick-fil-A in Fort Payne at 5:54 p.m. to order food. "If you suspect you were exposed, it is important for you to call your healthcare provider before being seen in his or her office, follow instructions for reporting, and practice social isolation if you develop any of the signs and symptoms of measles,” State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris said. Measles, a serious viral respiratory illness, can live up to two hours in the air or on the surface after an infected person coughs or sneezes. Those infected with the virus can spread it to others four days before and four days after its signature rash appears and a single case of measles will infect up to 95 percent of unvaccinated people who are exposed to the virus, ADPH said. Symptoms of measles appear seven to 14 days after a person is infected. Common early symptoms include: High fever, up to 105 degrees F Cough Runny nose Red or watery eyes Two to three days after symptoms begin, an infected person typically develops tiny white spots that appear inside of the mouth. Three to five days after symptoms begin, the infected person could also develop a rash of flat red spots that appear on the face and spread to the neck, chest, arms, legs and feet, sometimes topped by small raised bumps. Complications from measles include ear infections, hearing loss and diarrhea, but, in some cases, infected people can develop pneumonia, swelling of the brain and death. Up to 30 percent of infected people develop complications from the disease. The U.S. has reported a growing number of measles cases this year, with more than 600 reported incidents. Modern vaccinations against measles are 97 percent effective, according to health officials.