The New Jersey Department of Health is warning people who visited the Center for Health Education Medicine and Dentistry in Lakewood on July 10 between 1:45 and 6 pm that they may have been exposed to measles.
The department also recommends that anyone who visited the facility during those times should contact their health provider immediately to discuss potential exposure and risk of developing the illness.
Further, the department says that those who have been exposed are at risk of developing measles if they haven’t been vaccinated or if they haven’t had measles. Individuals exposed on July 10 could develop symptoms as late as July 31.
Those who suspect they may have been exposed are urged to contact a healthcare provider before going to a medical office or emergency department so arrangements can be made for evaluation while preventing the potential infection of other people.
Measles symptoms include rash, high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes, and it can lead to pneumonia and encephalitis. Infection in pregnant women can lead to miscarriage, premature birth, or low birth weight.
Measles is easily spread through the air when someone coughs or sneezes. People also can get sick when they come in contact with mucus or saliva from an infected person.
“Two doses of measles vaccine are about 97% effective in preventing measles,” said Dr. Christina Tan, New Jersey state epidemiologist.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers guidelines for what dental practices should do if they suspect that one of their patients has measles.
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