Thousands of March for Life attendees exposed to measles… as DC health officials are on high alert for virus in the city

Anti-abortion demonstrators at last month’s March for Life Rally in Washington, DC were likely exposed to measles, according to district health officials.

The DC Department of Health said in a public notice that it was ‘notified of multiple confirmed cases of measles whose carriers visited multiple locations in the District while contagious’ and ‘is informing people who were at these locations that they may have been exposed.’

Thousands of anti-abortion advocates gathered on the National Mall on January 23, which is now among the locations of potential measles exposure.

Other sites include the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, several buildings on the Catholic University campus, Reagan National Airport, multiple Metro trains and the Amtrak concourse at Union Station on various dates from January 21 through 27.

A Virginia resident confirmed to have measles was in the emergency department of Children’s National Hospital while contagious on February 2, between 11:15 am and 11:45 am, the hospital stated in a public notice. It’s unclear if the individual was fully vaccinated against the virus. 

‘DC Health is informing people who were at these locations that they may have been exposed,’ the health department notice said.

The case comes as the US is facing its largest measles outbreak in decades, with 733 confirmed cases reported across 20 states so far this year alone. According to the CDC, the vast majority of these cases involve individuals who were either unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.

Without the protection of both doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, measles can cause a characteristic rash on the torso and limbs, high fever and a cough. And in severe cases, it can lead to pneumonia, encephalitis, or brain swelling and blindness. About one in 500 children die from measles annually.

As of February 5, four people in Virginia have been confirmed to have measles with no cases of the virus so far in the District.

Measles is an extremely infectious disease transmitted through the air by an infected person’s breath, coughs or sneezes. Its symptoms develop in two distinct phases.

The initial phase typically involves a high fever (over 101 degrees Fahrenheit), a runny nose, red, watery eyes and a cough, beginning 7 to 14 days after exposure. The second phase starts 3 to 5 days later, marked by a rash that usually begins on the face before spreading over the entire body.

Individuals are contagious from four days before the rash emerges until four days after it appears.

The measles virus is highly contagious and can remain infectious in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours after an infected person leaves the area, such as a church or airport terminal.

Measles has now spread within the US for a full year, putting the country at risk of losing its hard-won ‘eliminated’ designation.

The ongoing outbreak in South Carolina is intensifying, with state health officials confirming 13 new cases Tuesday, bringing the total to 933, making it the largest single measles outbreak in the United States in over thirty years.

Currently, 235 people are under quarantine and six are in isolation. While 95 percent of cases remain concentrated in Spartanburg County, the virus is spreading geographically, with health authorities now investigating a newly confirmed case in Lancaster County whose source of exposure is still unknown.

The outbreak is overwhelmingly affecting the unvaccinated. Of 876 patients with known details, 859 were unvaccinated. Children and teenagers are bearing the brunt of the illness, with more than two-thirds of all cases (594) occurring in those aged five to 17, and another 245 cases in children under five.