The Tennessee measles case came through Chattanooga

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WDEF) – The Tennessee Department of Health now says the East Tennessee measles case touches Chattanooga.

ChattanoogaAnd they say if you were at a local convenience stores, you may have been exposed.

  • Mapco

200 Browns Ferry Road, Chattanooga

April 11, 2019 from 7:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.

 

The health department is also giving the same warning for another convenience store north of Knoxville.

  • Speedway

2148 North Charles G. Seivers Blvd., Clinton April 12, 2019 from 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

So here is what you should do if you were at one of the stores during the prescribed times (Measles are highly infectious through the air).  But don’t panic, you probably are already vaccinated against it.

  • Check your vaccination status. Locate your immunization records. People who have had two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella or MMR vaccine are protected against measles and need to take no further action in regard to an exposure to measles. Contact your health care provider if you cannot locate your immunization records and/or are not certain if you are immune to measles.
  • If you are not immune to measles, watch for symptoms of the illness. Measles symptoms may include fever, runny nose, body aches, watery eyes and white spots in the mouth. Several days after these symptoms start, a red, spotty rash typically begins on the face and spreads over the body. Symptoms may develop any time in the 21 days following exposure to the illness. Nearly one in three measles patients will develop ear infections, diarrhea or pneumonia.
  • If you develop measles symptoms, stay home and contact your health care provider. Those with symptoms of measles should first call a health care provider to make arrangements to visit a health care facility before going to a health care center in order to prevent further exposure of others to the illness.

“Most people in Tennessee are vaccinated against measles and are protected against this illness,” said TDH State Epidemiologist Tim Jones, MD. “This appearance of measles is a reminder about the importance of vaccines in protecting our population, and we urge everyone who has not been vaccinated to do so now to protect themselves, their families, their coworkers and their communities.”

At this time TDH has confirmed one case of measles in Tennessee this year.

The state health department has set up a hotline to answer your questions on measles.

The hotline number is 865-549-5343; calls to the hotline will be answered from 7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Central time/8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Eastern time daily until further notice.

For more information about measles, visit www.tn.gov/health/cedep/tennesee-measles.html.

Categories: Chattanooga, Featured, Local News

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