Measles Exposure At Northville Restaurant Possible: Wayne County

NORTHVILLE, MI — If you ate at the Early Bird Cafe in Northville on April 8, you may have been exposed to measles, according to the Wayne County Department of Health. On Friday, the department announced that patrons who were in the restaurant from 7:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. may have been exposed. Early Bird Cafe is located at 333 E. Main Street.

Measles is spread through a contagious person's coughing and sneezing. The county health department said its concerns is not related to food safety or sanitation. Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes, usually starting one to two weeks after exposure, according to a health department news release.

Earlier this month, a Livingston County resident was confirmed to have contracted the disease, according to a Detroit Free Press report. It was the second case of measles in Michigan since March. Patrons of two Ann Arbor restaurants were exposed to measles from one of those cases, the newspaper reported. The restaurants were:

• Mark’s Midtown Coney Island, 3586 Plymouth Rd., from noon- 3 p.m.on Thursday, April 6.
• Benny’s Family Dining, 1952 S. Industrial from 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. on Friday, April 7.

People are protected from measles by having two doses of the Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine, the Free Press reported. The first dose is given to infants after their first birthday, and a booster is given to children ages 4-6. Adults born before 1957 are considered immune by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the newspaper reported.

According to the CDC, measles can be very dangerous. “Some people think of measles as just a little rash and fever that clears up in a few days, but measles can cause serious health complications, especially in children younger than 5 years of age,” the agency wrote on its website. “There is no way to tell in advance the severity of the symptoms your child will experience.”

The CDC reports that about one in four people in the U.S. who get measles are hospitalized; one out of every 1,000 people with measles will develop brain swelling, which could lead to brain damage; and one or two out of 1,000 people with measles will die, even with the best of care.

Photo by Dave Haygarth via Flickr Commons.