Politics & Government

Maryland's Health Department Warns Amtrak Passengers of Possible Measles Exposure

Riders on Amtrak's Aug. 17 Northeast Regional #171, which stopped at Penn Station, BWI and New Carollton, may have been exposed to measles.

The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is informing people who were passengers on Amtrak’s Northeast Regional train #171 on Wednesday, Aug. 17, that they may have been exposed to a person with measles.

Northeast Regional 171 originated in Boston at 8:15 a.m., and made stops in Maryland (Aberdeen, Penn Station, BWI and New Carrollton), District of Columbia (Union Station) and Virginia (Alexandria, Burke Centre, Manassas, Culpeper, Charlottesville and Lynchburg).

The train ended its run in Lynchburg at 8:36 p.m. Passengers who left train 171 before its arrival in Philadelphia need not be concerned, according to the health department, which said the measles-infected passenger boarded at that stop.

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Measles is a highly contagious illness that is spread through coughing, sneezing and contact with secretions from the nose, mouth, and throat of an infected individual.

Individuals at risk for infection include those who are not vaccinated against measles or cannot recall or document vaccination.

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Measles symptoms usually appear in two stages. In the first stage, most people develop a fever higher than 101 degrees, runny nose, watery red eyes and a cough. The second stage begins around the third to seventh day when a rash begins to appear on the face and spreads over the entire body.

Based upon the date of exposure, it is possible that symptoms could develop as late as Sept. 7, if individuals were infected.

The health department said that if potentially infected passengers develop symptoms, they should call their health care provider, who may take precautions to keep the infection from spreading to others.


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