People at a batch of Bethesda events on May 11 might have been exposed to a Virginia resident with measles, according to the Virginia Department of Health.
The Department is investigating its second case of measles in the past few weeks. On Wednesday, it put out a press release that said it’s joining with area public health officials to identify people who may have been exposed to the contagious virus.
Three of those potential exposure sites were in Bethesda on Sunday, May 11. Officials identified the Bethesda Fine Arts Festival, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:50 p.m., the waiting room of Prep Matters on Cordell Avenue from 11:20 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and “the Farmer’s Market at Cordell Avenue” from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the press release was referring to the weekly Sunday farmers market at Bethesda Elementary School.
Mary Anderson, spokesperson for the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, said Virginia officials are taking the lead in the investigation. Montgomery County has offered its Disease Control Office as a place where people who might have measle-like symptoms can call if they have questions.
Anderson said she didn’t think the Disease Control Office had gotten any calls so far.
“What would happen is if somebody who was at one of those locations thinks they might have been exposed, they might call their own physician to ask for advice or what they might do is call our Disease Control Office,” Anderson said. “The reason health departments put out these press releases is because we want to be sure, since measles is contagious, that people are aware of it. If they start showing symptoms we want to make sure that they take the necessary precautions.”
There have been 216 documented cases and 15 outbreaks of measles in the U.S. this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. You can find out more about its symptoms and how to prevent it on the CDC website.
