Health officials say a college student diagnosed with measles took an Amtrak train from York City to the Albany area and are warning anyone who may have had contact with the student to be on the lookout for symptoms of the illness.
The student from Bard College boarded the train at Penn Station.
On January 25 the No. 283 Empire line train made scheduled stops at Yonkers and Croton-Harmon before going on to Poughkeepsie, Rhinecliff and the Albany area, officials said.
The student, who has not been identified, got off the train in Rhinecliff, they said.
He tested positive for the disease and would have been contagious when he got on board the Amtrak train, potentially exposing hundreds or even thousands of travelers to the virus, they warned.
Officials at Bard College, near Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County, said the male student has been isolated after his diagnosis.
A measles vaccination clinic was held at the college for any students, staff or faculty who have not been vaccinated against measles, school officials said.
More than 120 people received vaccinations, they said.
The current measles outbreak in the U.S., linked to Disneyland in California, has seen cases reported in 14 states, with 84 confirmed cases in the last month.
"In order to prevent the spread of illness, DOH is advising individuals who may have been exposed and who have symptoms consistent with measles to call their health care providers or a local emergency room BEFORE going for care," the New York State Department of Health said in a statement. "This will help to prevent others at these facilities from being exposed to the illness."
Initial symptoms, which can take as many as 18 days to appear after exposure, can include high fever, runny nose, a cough and a rash covering the entire body.
Measles are highly contagious, and can affect up to 90 percent of exposed people who have not been vaccinated.
The usual MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine is 97 percent effective in preventing measles, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
The Dutchess County case is the third confirmed measles case in New York this years, officials said; the other two have been in New York City.
The resurgence in measles is being blamed in part on parents who are refusing to vaccinate their children after a study, since discredited, claimed a link between the MMR vaccine and autism.
No link has ever been confirmed.
