Measles Alert: Infected Traveler Went Through Detroit Airport

DETROIT, MI – A person from Washtenaw County, who traveled abroad and returned home earlier this month, has been diagnosed with measles, reported Michigan health officials. The Michigan Department Health and Human Services issued a warning for anyone who might have come in contact with the person to watch for symptoms.

The individual returned March 6 to Detroit Metropolitan Airport and was contagious at the time, reported the agency. The individual was hospitalized and currently recovering.

Anyone who was in customs or baggage claim in the airport’s north terminal between 2 and 5 p.m. on March 6 should seek medical attention from their primary care provider if they develop symptoms of the disease. Symptoms include a high fever, red eyes, cough, runny nose, photophobia and is followed by a red, raised body rash starting on the head and face that then progresses to the rest of the body.

The infection typically has a 10- to 12-day incubation period.

Measles is a vaccine-preventable respiratory infection that can result in hospitalization, pneumonia, encephalitis and death. Infected people may be contagious for a few days before they present with symptoms, which increases the potential of exposing others to the infection.

"This case underscores the importance of following vaccine recommendations and being up-to-date on vaccines," said Dr. Eden Wells, MDHHS Chief Medical Executive, in a statement. "Immunizations are the best way to protect our families and communities from the harmful, sometimes deadly consequences of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles."

This is the first of two cases of measles reported in the United States in the past couple of days.

In a second case, a traveler arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport on March 12 from Brussels and departed for Memphis from the airport's Terminal C. The New Jersey Department of Health said the traveler, a young child, was contagious that day and may have traveled to other areas of the airport.

Anyone at the airport between 12:45 - 9 p.m. may have been exposed and could develop symptoms as late as April 2.

Photo: In this handout from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a thin-section transmission electron micrograph (TEM) reveales the ultrastructural appearance of a single virus particle, or 'virion', of measles virus. in this undated image. Measles outbreaks have been reported throughout the U.S., with the latest reported February 5, 2015 at a daycare in suburban Chicago where as many as five children under the age of one have been infected. (Photo by CDC via Getty Images)