The Maine Center for Disease Control (CDC) announced a confirmed case of the highly contagious measles in Penobscot County on Friday, marking the first case of the virus in the state since 2019.
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The CDC confirmed the case on Thursday, identifying it as an adult from Penobscot County who recently traveled from a state with active cases.
Health authorities believe that the infected person was contagious from January 28 through February 5.
The Maine CDC has informed the facilities where the person was known to have been and is working to inform potential exposed individuals.
The person is believed to have spent all day at Hill View Mini Barns, 1310 Stage Rd, Etna, from January 28 to 29, and was at the emergency room at St. Joseph Hospital in Bangor from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
The CDC will update the list if they learn more about his whereabouts. Individuals who were present at those places while the infected individual was there are urged to take precautions and watch for symptoms for 21 days after the time of exposure.
According to the CDC, measles is a highly contagious virus that infects up to 90 percent of people who have had close contact with an infected individual unless they have been immunized.
Symptoms included fever, runny nose, cough, red and watery eyes, and a rash that spreads from the head down.
People experiencing symptoms were warned to contact a medical provider before going into an office to avoid spreading the disease.
Advanced cases of measles can lead to pneumonia and encephalitis (brain swelling) and can even be fatal. The virus typically spreads through coughs and sneezes, and an infected person is contagious from four days before the rash starts to four days after.
The CDC reported that the virus can survive on surfaces and in the air for up to two hours, and symptoms typically begin 10 to 14 days after exposure.
Health authorities urged people to take the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine to prevent infection.
National CDC data showed that, as of early February, there were 733 measles cases in the country.
