Health Department

From the Virginia Department of Health (VDH)The Virginia Department of Health is reporting a confirmed case of measles in a resident of the Northern Region. The patient is a preschool-age child (0-4 years) who recently traveled internationally. This case is unrelated to a recent measles case reported on January 11. To protect the patient’s privacy, VDH will not provide any additional information about the patient. Health officials are coordinating an effort to identify people who might have been exposed and appreciate the active collaboration of affected health care facilities.Listed below are the dates, times, and locations of the potential exposure sites in Virginia:PM Pediatric Urgent Care, located at 2690 Prince William Parkway in WoodbridgeTuesday, Jan. 13 from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.Inova Children’s Emergency Department, located at 3300 Gallows Road in Falls ChurchThursday, Jan.15 from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.Friday, Jan. 16 from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.Inova Fairfax Hospital Women’s and Children’s Building, Floors 2-10, located at 3300 Gallows Road in Falls ChurchSaturday, Jan.17 at 2:30 a.m. to Sunday, Jan. 18 at 5 p.m.To date in 2026, Virginia has three reported cases of measles. Any additional exposure sites identified in Virginia will be posted to the VDH Measles website.What to Do If You Have Been Exposed to MeaslesMost people in Virginia have immunity to measles through vaccination, so the risk to the general public is low. However, anyone who was at the potential exposure sites at the times listed should:Find out if you have been vaccinated for measles or have had measles previously. Make sure you are up to date with the recommended number of measles (MMR) vaccinations.To check your immunization status, call your health care provider or request records through the VDH Record Request Portal.If you have received two doses of a measles-containing vaccine, or were born before 1957, you are considered protected and do not need to seek post-exposure treatment at this time.People who are not fully vaccinated or otherwise immune to measles should contact their health care provider or call their local health department immediately. People who are not immune to measles may qualify for post-exposure treatments. There is a small timeframe for these protective post-exposure treatments to be effective.Watch for symptoms of measles for 21 days after the potential exposure. Monitoring for symptoms is especially important for people who are not fully vaccinated or otherwise immune to measles.If you notice symptoms of measles, immediately isolate yourself by staying home. Contact your health care provider right away. If you need to seek health care, call ahead before going to your health care 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.The most likely time you would become sick would be between Jan. 20 to Feb. 8.Contact your local health department or email epi_response@vdh.virginia.gov to discuss any additional recommendations.The Fairfax County Health Department hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. However, if you need to report information about potential measles exposure, please call our communicable disease line immediately at 703-246-2433. This number's voicemail is reviewed on weekends and holidays. General Measles InformationMeasles 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 spreads 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.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 who are too young to be vaccinated, and others who are not vaccinated, are at high risk of developing measles if they are exposed. Infants six months through 11 months of age who will be traveling internationally, or to an outbreak setting, should receive one dose of MMR vaccine prior to travel. Talk to a health care provider if you have questions about the MMR vaccine.For more information about measles, visit www.vdh.virginia.gov/measles/.

 Ten Fairfax County Health Department Youth Ambassadors (PHYA) traveled to Georgetown University to present their community health projects to faculty members of the School of Medicine’s Department of Family Medicine on Monday, January 12. The program marked the final competition for students from Justice and Mount Vernon High Schools who participated in the Youth Ambassador program during the fall semester. Top prize winner Jaelin Smith with Dr. LaTasha Seliby-Perkins Top Awardees were:Jaelin Smith, Mount Vernon High School, Best Individual Project entitled “Insiders Perspective on Autism.”  Christopher Ramirez, Mount Vernon High School, second place for his project that aimed to increase access to in-home blood pressure and glucose monitoring.Miriam Gargis, Thomas Jefferson High School, third place for her project on educating young adults about the dangers of opioid misuse.Students in the PHYAP are required to develop a community health project to successfully complete the program. Participants select health issues that are relevant or meaningful to their communities and create actionable plans on how to address the issue. Projects are judged on originality, cultural relevance, and feasibility.After two rounds of preliminary judging by Fairfax County Health Department staff, 10 students advanced to a final round. Issues that students addressed included: Elder nutrition and physical activity, green spaces for stress management, gun violence, mindfulness strategies, and cancer.The panel of judges included Georgetown University staff: Dr. Khaseem Davis, MD, Senior Associate Dean of the Department of Family Medicine; Dr. Kim Bullock MD, Associate Professor; Lady Nwadike, Adjunct Faculty Advisor; and Dr. LaTasha Seliby-Perkins, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Director of Community-Based Learning at the School of Medicine. At the conclusion of the competition, students received a tour of the Georgetown University School of Medicine facilities.  The event was coordinated by Dr. Seliby-Perkins, who also served as MC and host of the event.This is the second straight year the Georgetown University School of Medicine has welcomed PHYAP’s students, while playing an equally important role as a partner to the program. Throughout the Fall cohort, medical students from their program served as mentors to the ambassadors, while providing in-class instruction that helped re-enforce some of the curriculum’s medicine-based modules. PHYAP’s goal is that its high school students will develop mentor relationships with the med students that will continue to blossom as they seek careers in medicine, education, and other related professional fields.For anyone interested in joining the program for the Spring 2026 semester, applications are open now. Learn more about the Public Health Youth Ambassador Program, including how to submit an application.

From the Virginia Department of Health (VDH)The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is reporting the state’s second measles case of 2026. The patient is a preschool-age child (0-4 years) in the Northern Region who recently traveled internationally. To protect the patient’s privacy, VDH will not provide any additional information about the patient. Virginia health officials are coordinating an effort to identify people who might have been exposed.Listed below are the date, times, and location of the potential exposure site in Virginia:Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center Emergency Department and Executive Medicine Suite, located at 9300 DeWitt Loop in Fort Belvoir, Friday, Jan. 9 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and 10 p.m. to midnight.In addition to the above location in Virginia, there is a potential exposure on a train that traveled through several nearby states and Washington, D.C. as listed below:Amtrak Northeast Regional Train 175, from William H. Gray III 30th Street Station, Philadelphia, PA at 9 p.m. to Washington Union Station at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7.Additional exposure sites related to this case have been identified in other states.To date in 2026, Virginia has reported two cases of measles. Any additional exposure sites identified in Virginia will be posted to the VDH Measles website.What to Do If You Have Been Exposed to MeaslesMost people in Virginia have immunity to measles through vaccination, so the risk to the general public is low. However, anyone who was at the potential exposure sites at the times listed should:Find out if you have been vaccinated for measles or have had measles previously. Make sure you are up to date with the recommended number of measles (MMR) vaccinations.To check your immunization status, call your healthcare provider or request records through the VDH Record Request Portal.If you have received two doses of a measles-containing vaccine, or were born before 1957, you are considered protected.Anyone who might have been exposed and is considered to be at risk of developing measles should contact their health care provider promptly to discuss any questions they might have. People who are not immune to measles might qualify for post-exposure treatments. There is a small timeframe within which these protective post-exposure treatments need to be given to be effective.Watch for symptoms of measles for 21 days after the potential exposure. Monitoring for symptoms is especially important for people who are not fully vaccinated or otherwise immune to measles.If you notice symptoms of measles, immediately isolate yourself by staying home. Contact your healthcare provider right away. If you need to seek healthcare, 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.The most likely time you would become sick would be between Jan. 16 to Jan. 30.Contact your local health department or email epi_response@vdh.virginia.gov to discuss any additional recommendations.The Fairfax County Health Department hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. However, if you need to report information about potential measles exposure that occurred in the Northern Region on Jan. 8 or 9, please call our communicable disease line immediately at 703-246-2433. This number's voicemail is reviewed on weekends and holidays. General Measles InformationMeasles 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 spreads 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.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 who are too young to be vaccinated, and others who are not vaccinated, are at high risk of developing measles if they are exposed. Infants six months through 11 months of age who will be traveling internationally, or to an outbreak setting, should receive one dose of MMR vaccine prior to travel. Talk to your healthcare provider if you have questions about the MMR vaccine.For more information about measles, visit VDH measles website.