Virginia officials say at least 3 Afghan arrivals in state have measles, send community warning

Northern Virginia health officials are warning residents about a potential exposure to the contagious measles virus, brought to the region by several people recently evacuated from Afghanistan.  

As many as five individuals who were brought to the U.S. in recent weeks as part of United States’ evacuation efforts in Afghanistan have now been found to have the virus, including the three in Northern Virginia. 

Similar to COVID-19, measles is generally spread through coughing, sneezing and contact with droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of an infected person. Most American are vaccinated as children against the virus.

Officials in a release obtained by WUSA9-TV said those infected can first expect a high fever and cough, followed by a rash that emerges on the face, then spreads over the entire body.

The officials are also reportedly engaged in contact tracing to find and inform those who might not know they're infected and to stop the spread.

They have also listed the date and times of "potential exposure sites" — including Dulles International Airport — and the risk of infection beyond those parameters is low.