Author: randystepanek

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 9, 2025
Media Contact: Brookie Crawford, brookie.crawford@vdh.virginia.gov

Virginia Health Officials Investigating Potential Measles Exposure in Northern Virginia
Virginia Department of Health is Working to Identify People Who Are at Risk

RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) was notified of a confirmed case of measles at Washington Dulles International Airport on Wednesday, March 5. The confirmed case was an individual who was returning from international travel. Health officials are coordinating an effort to identify people who might have been exposed, including contacting potentially exposed passengers on specific flights.

Listed below is the date, time, and location of the potential exposure site:

• Dulles International Airport (IAD):  in Terminal A, on transportation to the main terminal and in the baggage claim area between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5.

Measles is a highly contagious illness that can spread easily through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. Measles symptoms usually appear in two stages. In the first stage, most people have a fever of greater than 101 degrees, runny nose, watery red eyes, and a cough. These symptoms usually start seven to 14 days after being exposed. The second stage starts three to five days after symptoms start, when a rash begins to appear on the face and spread to the rest of the body. People with measles are contagious from four days before the rash appears through four days after the rash appeared.

What should you do if you were at the above location on the day and time specified?

• If you have never received a measles containing vaccine (either the measles, mumps and rubella [MMR] vaccine or a measles-only vaccine which is available in other countries), you may be at risk of developing measles. Anyone who was exposed and considered to be at risk of developing measles should contact their healthcare provider immediately.
• Watch for symptoms until March 26. If you notice the symptoms of measles, immediately isolate yourself by staying home. Contact your healthcare provider right away. Call ahead before going to your healthcare provider’s office or the emergency room to notify them that you may have been exposed to measles and ask them to call the local health department. This call will help protect other patients and staff.
• Anyone with an immunocompromising condition should consult with their healthcare provider if they have questions or develop symptoms.
• If you have received two doses of a measles containing vaccine, or were born before 1957, you are protected and do not need to take any action.
• If you have received only one dose of a measles containing vaccine, you are very likely to be protected and your risk of being infected with measles from any of these exposures is very low. However, to achieve complete immunity, contact your healthcare provider about getting a second vaccine dose.

Measles is preventable through a safe and effective MMR vaccine. Two doses of the vaccine are given to provide lifetime protection. Virginia has high measles vaccination rates, with approximately 95% of kindergarteners fully vaccinated against measles. However, infants younger than 12 months of age are too young to be vaccinated. These infants, and others who are not vaccinated, are very susceptible to infection if they are exposed to someone with measles. If you or your child have not yet been vaccinated, call your health provider. To check your immunization status, call your healthcare provider or request records from the VDH Immunization Record Request Form. For additional information, contact your local health department.

Virginia residents with additional questions about their potential exposure can call VDH at (804) 363-2704 or email epi_response@vdh.virginia.gov. For more information about measles visit www.vdh.virginia.gov/measles/

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Today, the Virginia Department of Health’s (VDH) Office of Drinking Water (ODW) announced the launch of a statewide voluntary Lead Testing in Drinking Water at Schools and Child Care Centers in Virginia program. This free program will test for lead in drinking water in select Virginia public schools and child care centers.

The purpose of this program, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is to help Virginia public schools and child care centers identify lead occurrences in their drinking water and reduce exposure.  Currently, the program has approximately $1.1 million in funding, which will be able to collect and analyze 40,000 samples.

Virginia public schools (K-12) and child care centers interested in participating in this program should enroll at leadinvawater.org.  Selected schools/child care centers will be notified by the VDH team.

Selection to the program is based on available funding with prioritization based upon the affordability criteria established by the state under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), to include schools with at least 50% of the children receiving free and reduced lunch and head start facilities. Priority will also be given to elementary schools and child care centers that primarily serve children 6 years and under and older facilities that are more likely to contain lead plumbing.

“This program is an amazing opportunity to partner with schools and child care centers to help identify and reduce lead exposure in drinking water in children,” said Dr. Tony Singh, deputy director of the Office of Drinking Water. “Every action we take to reduce lead exposures improves the health of our children.”

Protecting children from lead exposure is important for lifelong health, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the EPA.  Lead is especially harmful to the health of children because it can interfere with brain development.

Lead can enter drinking water when plumbing materials that contain lead corrode, especially where the water has high acidity or low mineral content. The most common sources of lead in drinking water are lead pipes, faucets, and fixtures. Lead pipes are more likely to be found in older cities and homes/buildings built before 1986 before the SDWA banned lead in plumbing fixtures.

To learn more about this program visit leadinvawater.org or email info@leadinvawater.org.

RICHMOND, VA – Today, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) launched a new data dashboard on firearm injuries in Virginia showing the number and rate of emergency department (ED) visits from 2016 to 2022. The dashboard shows firearm injury data by year, health district, age group, sex, and race/ethnicity across Virginia.

The dashboard is a result of the Firearm Injury Surveillance Through Emergency Rooms (FASTER) funding awarded to VDH by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  VDH is one of 10 recipients funded for three years with the goal to improve public health surveillance of firearm injuries using near-real time ED data.

“The misuse and mishandling of firearms constitute a significant cause of injury in Virginia,” said State Health Commissioner Colin M. Greene, MD, MPH. “This data set, obtained from emergency department records, will assist in the assessment of proximate causes of firearm-related injury, with an eye toward prevention of future injuries.”

The dashboard findings show:

• The number of ED visits for firearm injury increased 72% from 2018 (1,635 visits per year) to 2021 (2,815 visits per year).
• From January 2016 through May 2022, the majority of firearm injury ED visits in Virginia (86%) were among males.
• Among racial groups, most ED visits for firearm injury occurred among Black patients. In 2021, 65% of ED visits for firearm injury were among Black patients, compared to 22% among White patients.
• Young adults bear the highest burden of ED visits for firearm injury with nearly one-third (31%) occurring among adults aged 18-24 years in 2021.

VDH worked with an advisory group of partners, including hospitals, education partners, law enforcement, state agencies and community organizations, to understand data needs and gather feedback about the firearm injury data dashboard.  Hospital and freestanding EDs report data to VDH, a partnership that is key for timely tracking of community health impacts.

This data is an example of syndromic surveillance, a strategy used by public health to detect emerging health issues and monitor community health in near-real time. Learn more about syndromic surveillance at:  www.vdh.virginia.gov/surveillance-and-investigation/syndromic-surveillance/.

In the next year, VDH hopes to expand the firearm injury dashboard to include data on firearm injury hospitalizations and deaths. While intent of injury (assault, intentional self-harm, unintentional) is not available through the ED data at this time, it will be available for hospitalization and death