MIAMI COUNTY — Health officials are warning people of measles exposure in the Miami Valley.
>> RELATED: Shoppers exposed to measles at busy Kroger, health officials say
Miami County Public Health said you were exposed to measles if you were in the Kroger on Union Boulevard in Englewood on February 13 from 12:45 p.m. to 4 p.m.
News Center 7′s Taylor Robertson spoke with Becky Thomas, Medical Director of Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County about how quickly the virus can spread.
“If you aren’t vaccinated and you’re in the same space as a person who has measles for up to two hours afterward, nine out of 10 people will become infected with measles,” Thomas said.
>>RELATED: Measles vaccination clinic opens in Montgomery County
Thomas said even if the infected person has left the area, any person in that area for up to two hours afterward can be exposed and become infected if they’re not protected by vaccination.
Thomas said it’s even more dangerous for children younger than 12 months old who cannot be vaccinated for measles until 12 to 15 months of age and it can spread before symptoms start showing up.
“Those include common respiratory symptoms that we see this time of year, such as cough and red teary eyes and stuffy nose and a fever,” Thomas said.
>>RELATED: Measles case reported in Montgomery County
Then about five days later, a rash will appear. They are urging people with symptoms to get tested.
“That involves going to either their own doctors office or to an emergency department, we’d like people to contact the office before showing up so that appropriate measures can be taken to prevent other people in that setting from becoming exposed,” Thomas said.
Longtime Englewood resident James Jenkins said he goes to the Kroger on Union Blvd. several times a week but isn’t sure if he was there the day of the exposure.
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“I think I might have been in there but I couldn’t say for sure,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins has had measles in the past, which is why he said he’s not too worried about if he was exposed or not.
“I just trust in the lord that I don’t get sick,” Jenkins said.
For the people who were at Kroger on February 13th when the infected person was there, it doesn’t mean they now have measles, it just means they were exposed to it.
Thomas said anyone at any age can catch measles, but people who have both vaccines have a 97 percent chance of not becoming infected.
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