Tarrant County Public Health says Tuesday a Tarrant County resident tested positive for measles after returning home from India.
TCPH said the person flew on Emirates from India to DFW, with a stop in Dubai, on Jan. 6. The person's infectious period ended on Jan. 7.
The TCPH said the last recorded case of measles in Tarrant County was in July 2014. This case has no apparent ties to the current Disneyland-related measles outbreak in California.
"The [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] is determining the number of exposed passengers on the international flight. TCPH is investigating who might have been exposed in Tarrant County. So far, the investigation has revealed a limited exposure to area residents," TCPH said in a news release Tuesday.
Here's more from the TCPH on the disease:
Measles is an airborne disease spread by coughing and sneezing. It causes a reddish rash, high fever, cough, runny nose and watery eyes. It usually lasts one to two weeks. The rash begins on the face and head and then proceeds downward and outward to the hands and feet. It fades in the same order it began, from head to feet.
“We take the health of any traveler who returns to Tarrant County with signs or symptoms of a disease seriously,” said TCPH Health Director Vinny Taneja. “We are receiving cooperation from everyone involved in this case and feel confident the public is safe.”
TCPH would like to remind residents that measles is a vaccine-preventable disease and that most people born after 1957 in the United States have had at least one dose of MMR (measles, mumps and rubella).
“Measles is one of the most contagious viruses on the planet,” said Dr. Seema Yasmin, medical expert for The Dallas Morning News. “It stays in the air, it stays on the surfaces for two hours after somebody infectious has been around.”
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TCPH will work with the state and the CDC to get a flight manifest and find out who was on board the flight with the infected passenger and who could be at risk.
“They normally look three rows ahead and three rows behind the person who had measles as well as contacting anyone who had a baby in their arms and was walking up and down the aisles,” said Dr. Yasmin.
Those who have been vaccinated against the measles should be fine, said Dr. Yasmin.
“It should protect you for a good number of years,” she added. “The problem is if you’re not vaccinated, you’re 35 times more likely to get measles.”
That’s not a big concern for the Saul family. Their 14 month old hasn’t been vaccinated.
“It's not a big worry for us. We might change our behavior a little bit,” said Gerald Saul.
The family wants to raise their child in the most natural way possible and is avoiding vaccines. Still, they say they will take precautions.
“The first three months after he was born we didn't even go to family functions and stuff, just because there was going to be a lot of people around and we didn't know who might have what,” said Saul.
Dr. Yasmin said symptoms of measles typically show up 7-14 days after exposure. Symptoms include a runny nose, fever and cough, and the measles can be deadly.
There was no comment from Emirates on Tuesday.
