An adult with measles traveled on the Long Island Rail Road and used the Mineola train station and Penn Station, possibly exposing other people to infection, the Nassau County Department of Health said.
The department said last Thursday that this was the second case of measles in an adult this year in the county. The identity of the individual was not revealed but the department reported where the Nassau resident traveled over a four-day period from Sept. 11 to 14.
“The County’s disease control team is working non-stop with the New York State Department of Health to investigate this case and determine the potential exposures. Nassau County Department of Health will take appropriate action based on the findings of this case,” County Executive Laura Curran, said in a statement.
Measles is a serious respiratory disease that causes a rash and fever and is very contagious, Curran said.
According to Curran’s office, people are considered infectious from four days before to four days after the appearance of the rash. Symptoms usually appear 10 to 12 days after exposure but may appear as early as seven days and as late as 21 days after exposure.
The county identified the times and places that the Nassau resident traveled while infected:
Sept. 11: Mineola LIRR Station to New York Penn Station between the hours of 3 p.m. – 7 p.m; Penn Station to Mineola LIRR Station, 11:15 p.m. – 2:30 a.m.
Sept. 12: Mineola LIRR Station to New York Penn Station between the hours of 10:15 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.; Penn Station to LIRR Mineola Station, 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Sept. 14: Noches de Columbia Restaurant, 204 Jericho Turnpike, Mineola, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.; MTA shuttle from Mineola LIRR Station to Hempstead LIRR station, 2:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.; Hempstead LIRR Station to Jamaica LIRR Station, 3 p.m. – 6 p.m.; Jamaica LIRR Station to Penn Station, 3:50 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Penn Station to Hempstead LIRR Station, 10 p.m. – 2:30 a.m.; MTA shuttle from Hempstead LIRR Station to Mineola LIRR Station, 12:15 a.m. – 2:30 a.m.
These times reflect the period that the infected individual was in the identified areas and a two-hour period afterward because the virus remains alive in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours, the county health department said.
Department officials are advising people who may have been in those areas to contact their health care provider, a local clinic or a local emergency department before going for care in order to prevent others from being exposed and infected.
Those at high risk include pregnant women, children under 6 months of age who are
immunocompromised or immunosuppressed (when your body can’t fight disease), children who have not been vaccinated against measles and individuals born before 1957 who are immunosuppressed.
Curran’s urged parents to get their children vaccinated.
“We have a solemn obligation to protect the health and safety of all 1.4 million people who call Nassau County home – especially the thousands of vulnerable people in our communities who cannot receive vaccinations due to health conditions or young age,” Curran said. “We will continue to emphasize that the single best way to protect our children and the entire community from serious diseases is through recommended vaccinations. The science remains clear: vaccines are safe, effective, and life-saving.”
