Possible Detroit measles exposure prompts health unit to remind people to be vaccinated

The health unit is reminding people to get immunized for measles, after a case of the virus was detected in Detroit. 

The state announced Wednesday, a person in Washtenaw County had been hospitalized after recently travelling internationally and became sick.

Officials said anyone in customs or baggage claim in Detroit Metropolitan Airport's north terminal between 2 and 5 p.m. March 6 should seek medical attention if they develop symptoms of the disease.

"Measles is a very contagious virus and we have done a lot in terms of protecting people and not having any cases in Canada through immunization," said Dr. Wajid Ahmed, acting medical officer at the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit. "In Windsor-Essex it has been about 10 to 12 years since there has been a case."

Ahmed said it's important to make sure your immunization records are up to date before travelling. 

He said measles can be very serious, especially for young children. 

Here are some facts about the virus provided by the health unit:

How it's spread

Measles spreads easily when an infected person coughs or sneezes, spreading droplets that contain the virus into the air. Less commonly, particles from an infected person can stay in the air for long periods of time and infect others in the same room.

Symptoms

Symptoms appear 7 to 21 days after exposure to a person with measles and include:

• Fever
• Cough
• Runny Nose
• Drowsiness
• Irritability
• Red and watery eyes
• Red rash, first on the face and then moving down the body, legs, and arms. The rash usually appears three to seven days after the start of symptoms.
• Small, red, irregular spots that develop on the inside of the cheeks, near the back teeth. Each spot will have a whitish or bluish centre.

What to do

Vaccination remains the best protection against measles. You need to ensure you got two doses of the vaccine to be fully protected.