The Virginia Department of Health has confirmed a case of measles with potential exposure to anyone who may have visited Washington Dulles International Airport on March 5.

The confirmed case was an individual who was returning from international travel.

According to health officials, you may have been exposed if you were at the international arrivals area of Dulles International Airport between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5.

Health officials are coordinating an effort to identify people who might have been exposed including contacting potentially exposed passengers on specific flights.

Measles is a highly contagious illness that can spread easily through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes.

Virginia has high vaccination rates with approximately 95 percent of kindergarteners fully vaccinated against measles.

Two deaths have been reported from measles due to an outbreak in Texas and New Mexico : one unvaccinated adult from Lea County, New Mexico, and an unvaccinated 6-year-old in Lubbock, Texas. The deaths are the first measles fatalities since 2015.

More than 200 cases have been reported in the two states.

RFK Jr. and unconventional treatment for measles

US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pushed anti-vaccine treatments including the use of vitamin A in the past.

In an interview with Fox News this week, Kennedy endorsed an unconventional treatment regimen for measles including a steroid, an antibiotic and cod liver oil, which is rich in vitamin A, according to an article by CNN .

However, doctors warn that following that advice could have dire consequences. The supplement may be harmful to children in large doses, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“I’m very concerned about the messaging that’s coming out,” Dr. Jeffrey Kahn , chief of infectious diseases at Children’s Health in Dallas , told Reuters . “It’s somewhat baffling to me that we’re relitigating the effectiveness of vaccines and alternative therapies. We know how to handle measles. We’ve had six decades of experience.”

Kennedy told Fox that a vaccination for measles is a “personal choice.”

“At this point, we are recommending that people in those [undervaccinated] communities get vaccines. We understand a lot of them will not, and we’re going to try to make sure that they’re taken care of through the best therapeutic interventions that we can provide them or recommend for them,” Kennedy said.

Measles symptoms

People with measles are contagious from four days before the rash appears through four days after the rash appeared.

Actions if you were exposed

If you have never received a measles containing vaccine (either the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine or a measles-only vaccine which is available in other countries), you may be at risk of developing measles.

Measles vaccine

Measles is preventable through a safe and effective MMR vaccine.

More information