Two cases of measles in Stafford County have been confirmed by the Virginia Department of Health.
The patients are a preschool-aged child (0-4 years) and a school-age child (5-12 years) who recently traveled together domestically, the agency announced Tuesday.
“To protect the patients’ privacy, VDH will not provide any additional information about the patients,” the department said. “Health officials are coordinating an effort to identify people who might have been exposed.”
Potential exposure sites were:
- KidMed Stafford Urgent Care, 20 Doc Stone Road, between 4:30 and 8 p.m. Thursday, April 16;
- Grafton Village Elementary School, 501 Deacon Road, on April 9-10, April 13-16 and Monday, April 20.
“We are working closely with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), which is leading contact tracing efforts and will directly notify any individuals who may have had close contact with the confirmed case,” Casey Morrison, coordinator of health services for the Stafford County school district, wrote in a statement sent to school families.
Morrison noted the measles virus doesn’t survive on surfaces for more than two hours. “As an added precaution, enhanced cleaning and sanitization measures have been completed at the impacted location.”
Those who are fully vaccinated are considered well-protected, Morrison wrote. Those who aren’t and are identified as having been exposed may be required to remain at home for 21 days.
To date, Virginia has seen 19 reported measles cases this year, the VDH said. Any additional exposure sites identified in Virginia will be posted to the agency’s Measles website.
