Philly has identified a measles case in a CHOP patient

A patient who recently visited the emergency department and an outpatient clinic at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has been diagnosed with measles, Philadelphia health officials said Wednesday, urging those who visited locations where the patient was treated to make sure they have vaccine protections against the virus.

Health officials said that the person had recently traveled internationally and that the case is not connected to another measles case in Montgomery County that was also linked to international travel, nor to a widespread outbreak in West Texas.

The age of the patient with the Philadelphia area’s latest measles case was not disclosed.

“We believe there is no threat to the general public associated with this case of measles,” city Health Commissioner Palak Raval-Nelson said in a statement.

Measles is a highly contagious disease that spreads through respiratory droplets from an infected person and can linger in the air for up to two hours, even if an infected person has left the area.

The city health department said exposures could have occurred at the following locations:

Those who passed through those locations at those times should determine whether they are protected against measles, the health department said. People are generally considered immune if they were born before 1957, have already had measles, have a blood test showing immunity to measles, or have written documentation of receiving adequate doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine.

“As vaccination rates across the country continue to drop, there are more and more opportunities for people who cannot be vaccinated to be exposed to this deadly disease. That’s why it is critical for everyone who needs to be protected from measles to get vaccinated as soon as possible,” Raval-Nelson said.

Children under a year old are generally not vaccinated for measles and are not immune to the virus. Health officials recommend vaccinations for children as early as six months if they are planning to travel internationally.

People immune to measles who visited those locations do not have to do anything, the health department said. The MMR vaccine is 97% effective with two doses, the department noted.

Those who are not protected from the virus and visited the CHOP ER on Monday during the potential exposure should get a dose of the MMR vaccine before Thursday, the health department said.

Those who do not get an MMR vaccine before Thursday should stay home for 21 days, the department said.

People without immunity who visited the South Philadelphia Health and Literacy Center on Friday should call their doctors and stay at home until March 27, the department said. Those at the center on Saturday must stay home until March 28. The department asked people to call their doctors if they develop symptoms.

Parents should contact their doctors if they took a child under a year old to one of the exposure locations, the department said. So should anyone who is pregnant and not immune or who has a weakened immune system.

People who develop any measles symptoms through March 31 should call their doctor immediately, the department said, and tell the doctor before visiting the office that they may have been exposed to measles. Symptomatic patients should also notify the health department at 215-685-6740, option 5.

The virus’ early symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, red and puffy eyes, and a rash. In serious cases, measles can lead to pneumonia, brain infections, and death.

In a large ongoing measles outbreak in West Texas, two people have died. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about one in five unvaccinated people who contract measles will be hospitalized, and one in 20 children will develop pneumonia, the leading cause of death from measles in young children. About one to three children out of every 1,000 infected with measles will die.

In a hospital systemwide email sent Tuesday night and obtained by The Inquirer, CHOP officials said that staff should screen patients by asking for a travel history, potential exposures to measles, and any symptoms that might indicate the presence of the virus. Patients with a recent measles exposure should be placed in an airborne infection isolation room.

A city health department spokesperson said that the patient with measles had not presented with “classic measles symptoms” on the first two visits to the CHOP outpatient clinic.

“It was not until [their visit to the CHOP ER on Monday] that classic symptoms appeared, and the diagnosis was made,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.

CHOP officials did not immediately return a call for comment. In the email, they wrote that the “vast majority” of the hospital’s workforce is protected against the measles by either natural or vaccine-induced immunity.

The city health department said that citywide MMR vaccine coverage is also high. About 97% of seventh- and 12th-grade students and 94.5% of kindergarten students in the city were vaccinated against measles during the 2023-24 school year. State health officials recommend that 95% of people be vaccinated against measles in order to protect residents who are immunocompromised or too young to be vaccinated.

For residents looking to make sure they are protected, the health department maintains a website on how to access vaccinations and a separate site on vaccines recommended before traveling. Philadelphians who do not know whether they have been vaccinated can ask for their records through the health department, which keeps track of vaccines given in the city.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional detail on the patient’s visits to CHOP facilities and to clarify the age at which public health officials recommend vaccines and consider a person immune to measles.