WASHINGTON, D.C. — A person with a confirmed case of the measles may have exposed passengers on an Amtrak Northeast Regional train earlier this month, health officials warned.
The D.C. Department of Health said Tuesday that they were notified of a confirmed case of measles in a person who visited multiple locations in Washington, D.C., while contagious.
Health officials said the infected person traveled south on the Amtrak Northeast Regional 175 train on March 19 from 7:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., arriving at D.C.’s Union Station.
It’s not clear where the person boarded the train, but Amtrak’s schedule shows the 175 train route transports travelers from Boston south through Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland before arriving in D.C.
Officials said the infected person later visited the MedStar Urgent Care in D.C.’s Adams Morgan section on March 22.
Measles is a highly contagious illness that can spread easily through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. Symptoms usually appear in two stages.
Most people with the infection develop a fever greater than 101 degrees, a runny nose, watery red eyes, and a cough within 7 to 14 days of exposure. The second stage starts 3 to 5 days after symptoms start, when a rash begins to appear on the face and spread to the rest of the body.
Health officials warned that people with measles are contagious from 4 days before the rash appears through 4 days after the rash appears.
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