Health officials in Washington, D.C., are investigating possible measles exposures after a contagious person traveled through the area on an Amtrak train.

The train passenger with measles passed through the region last week, leaving some exposed to the airborne virus and at risk of infection, the health department said on Tuesday. The D.C. Health Department shared the following dates, times and locations as possible points of exposure:

• Amtrak Northeast Regional 175 train southbound on March 19 between 7:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m.
• Amtrak Concourse, Union Station, 50 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Washington, D.C. , on March 19 between 11 p.m. and 1:30 a.m.
• MedStar Urgent Care Adams Morgan, 1805 Columbia Road NW, Washington, D.C. , on March 22 between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Amtrak officials confirmed that DC Public Health Department had notified them of a confirmed case of measles in a customer traveling on train 175 from New York to Washington Union Station on March 19.

“Amtrak is reaching out directly to customers who were on this train to notify them of possible exposure,” an Amtrak spokesperson told The Baltimore Banner.

Measles is a highly contagious, airborne virus with symptoms that include a rash, high fever, coughing, runny nose and red and watery eyes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC said measles can live in the air up to two hours after an infected person leaves the space.

This case follows at least three others in Maryland this year — all stemming from international travel. On March 9, a Howard County resident who traveled abroad recently tested positive for measles. In a separate case last week, two Prince George’s County residents who traveled together internationally also contracted the virus. Neither of these cases was related, nor were they connected to the outbreak in the Southwest U.S.

So far this year, there have been over 370 cases of measles reported across 18 states and two deaths, the CDC reported, compared to 285 cases and no deaths last year.

Measles had been eliminated in the U.S. in 2000 due to the high rate of people getting the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine. However, the CDC recorded a decline in MMR vaccination rates among kindergarten children across the country from 95% during the 2020-2021 school year to 92.7% in 2023-2024. Over 96% of Maryland kindergartners have had two doses of the MMR vaccine, per the CDC, compared to 92% of early learners in Washington, D.C.

What to do if you think you’ve been exposed

If you believe you have been exposed and begin experiencing symptoms, officials urge that you remain home and contact your health care provider. Anyone who believes they’ve been exposed and is symptomatic should call their doctor or a hospital before going to a waiting room or emergency department.

Between one and four days after early symptoms, a red rash appears on the face and spreads to the rest of the body.

A person with measles is contagious, beginning four days before the rash appears until four days after the rash begins, according to the MDH.