KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — An unvaccinated child in Montgomery County has contracted the measles — the first confirmed case in the region and Pennsylvania this year. The child contracted the highly contagious virus while on an international trip and returned to the area last week, according to the Montgomery County Office of Public Health.
Contact tracing is being done after health officials identified three locations where people may have been exposed during the child’s infectious period. Those sites include:
China Airlines Airport Shuttle Bus
Departing JFK Airport Terminal 4 and arriving at North Philadelphia’s Pho Ha Saigon, 757 Adams Ave.
Between 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 25 and 3:15 a.m. on Feb. 26
True North Pediatrics Associates of Plymouth
3031 Walton Road, Plymouth Meeting
Between 11:45. a.m. and 2:15 p.m. on Feb. 26
CHOP King of Prussia Campus Emergency Department
550 South Goddard Blvd., King of Prussia
Between 12:52 and 3:02 p.m. on Feb. 26
The measles virus can stay in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours after an infected person leaves the area, according to health experts.
“This is something that can be preventable with vaccinations, and it’s not too late to get vaccinated,” Dr. Alvin Wang, Montgomery County’s chief medical officer, told NBC10. “The majority of individuals in Montgomery County, over 95%, have already been vaccinated with two doses of the MMR, or measles, vaccine.”
Those who suspect they or their child may have the measles and need treatment are asked to call their health care provider before visiting to give staff time to take precautions.
This measles case comes amid a surge in the U.S., specifically Texas, which has reported at least 146 infections — the largest number of cases in nearly 30 years. One unvaccinated child died — the first U.S. death from the disease since 2015, the CDC said.
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Similarly, New Jersey reported three measles cases in Bergen County last week. The infected child had recently traveled internationally, and two close family members then contracted the disease. All were unvaccinated.
One dose of the vaccine is 93% effective against measles, and two doses are 97% effective, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The first shot is recommended for children ages 12 to 15 months, and the second for ages 4 to 6 years. Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.
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Vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic, and most states are below the 95% vaccination threshold for kindergartners — the level needed to protect communities against measles outbreaks.
The U.S. had considered measles, a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours, eliminated in 2000, which meant there had been a halt in continuous spread of the disease for at least a year. Measles cases rose in 2024, including a Chicago outbreak that sickened more than 60.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.