The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has identified a measles-positive patient, who was not vaccinated against the virus. The patient was seen at Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center’s (DHMC) emergency department on July 6 and 7.
DHHS is in the process of conducting community-exposed contact tracing. All DHMC staff who had exposure to the patient while providing care have been contacted, and all have documented immunity.
Measles is a highly contagious virus primarily transmitted through coughing and sneezing. Symptoms of measles are rash, high fever, cough, runny nose, red, watery eyes, and a distinctive red-brown rash. Masking when any of these symptoms are present can help limit the spread of measles. Some people who become sick with measles also get an ear infection, diarrhea, or a serious lung infection, such as pneumonia. People who are exposed may develop symptoms of infection up to 21 days after exposure, typically 10-14 days after exposure. Although severe cases are rare, measles can cause swelling of the brain and even death. Measles can be especially severe in infants and in people who are malnourished or who have weakened immune systems (such as from HIV infection or cancer or from certain drugs or therapies).
Anyone exhibiting the symptoms listed above and/or who thinks they may have been exposed to measles can call Dartmouth Health’s hotline at 603-650-1818.
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care. Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.