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TUCSON, AZ (3TV / CBS 5) – Health officials issued a warning on Tuesday over possible measles exposure in Tucson.
The Arizona Department of Health Services and the Department of Public Health of Pima County said that a New Yorker with measles had traveled to Tucson between 17 and 29 April and may have exposed the public to the disease.
[RELATED: Measles outbreak nationwide puts AZ health officials on high alert]
The person was at Tucson International Airport from 6 am to 10:40 am on April 29th.
"This is the only exposure of their community to be known," said Dr. Cara, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, Christ. "So we were lucky, measles is very contagious."
She recommends, if someone thinks to be at the airport during this time, to make an appointment with a doctor.
"The virus can stay in the air until two hours after the person's departure," Christ said.
Measles can be prevented with the MMR vaccine.
"Our main concern is for those who have not been vaccinated or who have underlying conditions who can not get vaccinated, and we want to protect those people," Christ said.
She said nine out of 10 people at risk of measles would develop measles.
The disease can spread by air when the infected person coughs or sneezes, according to doctors. Symptoms of measles can appear seven to 12 days after exposure, but they can take up to 21 days. These symptoms include a fever of 101 degrees or more, red and watery eyes, a cough and runny nose. A rash will appear after it is red, raised and stained, officials said. The rash starts on the face at the root of the hair and goes down the body and can last five to six days.
[RELATED: US measles outbreak is largest since disease was declared eliminated in 2000]
You are immunized against measles if you have received two doses of MMR vaccine or if you were born before 1957 and have received a MMR vaccine, officials said.
The exposure occurs nearly two months after the diagnosis of measles in a 1-year-old infant in Pima County.
[READ MORE: Arizona’s first 2019 case of measles confirmed in 1-year-old child]
The baby had recently traveled to Asia.
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