Did You Visit NYC This Month? Health Officials Would Like a Word

The New York State Department of Health wants residents to know that an Australian tourist confirmed to have measles visited numerous hotels and the Metropolitan Museum of Art from Feb. 16 to 21.

Measles is notoriously contagious for people without immunity to the disease, with a 90 percent infection rate for nonimmunized people who venture near an active spreader, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus latches onto the nose and throat mucus and proliferates through coughing and sneezing, with a life span of up to two hours in the open air.

About nine out of 10 kids in the United States receive their measles vaccines, and the vaccine’s effectiveness rates above 90 percent, the CDC says.

In the United States, dropping immunization rates and bumps in infections have been tied to the anti-vaxxer movement, which believes that autism is caused by immunizations. That belief has long been discredited, but it has taken root in some communities.

State health officials on Friday advised people without immunizations to contact a health-care provider if they exhibit symptoms of measles, which include fever, rash, cough, pinkeye or a runny nose.

The Australian tourist’s travel route appears to show the contraction and progression of the disease, in a chronology provided Friday by state health officials:

Feb. 16-19: La Quinta Inn, 31 W. 71st Street, New York, New York.

Feb. 16-17: Oasis Bible Tours at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 5th Avenue, New York, New York.

Feb. 19: Watchtower Educational Center, 100 Watchtower Drive, Patterson, New York.

Feb. 19-20: Best Western Hotel, 1324 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, New York.

Feb. 20-21: Comfort Inn & Suites Goshen-Middletown, 20 Hatfield Lane, Goshen, New York.

Feb. 21: Excel Urgent Care, 1 Hatfield Lane, Goshen, New York.

Feb. 21: Orange Regional Medical Center, Emergency Department, 707 E. Main Street, Middletown, New York.

There is some overlap, the state said, given the two-hour life span of the virus when airborne.

At this point, if you are digging into your vaccination records, immunization for the disease may show up as MMR — the common cocktail immunization for measles, mumps and rubella.

The state is being proactive with the alert, as symptoms typically appear about 10 to 12 days after exposure. So if you checked into La Quinta Inn and enjoyed Central Park views on Feb. 16-17, then symptoms of the disease may begin to show if you were infected.

This episode is noteworthy, given New York City’s population density and the tourist’s path cutting through area hotels and probably subway and cabs. The Met notched a record-high 7 million visitors in fiscal 2017, the museum said in its annual review, drawing art enthusiasts and others from all over the world.

Children must be immunized against measles to enroll in schools and day care, New York state health officials said, and college students since 1990 have been required to furnish their immunization records for the disease.

This article appeared in print on page 41 of the February 28th, 2018 edition of Hamodia.