FULLERTON, CA (CelebrityAccess) — Health officials have issued a warning for moviegoers who attended a midnight screening of “Avengers: Endgame” that they may have been exposed to measles.
According to the Orange County Health Care Agency, a woman in her twenties attended a midnight screening of Avengers for a midnight screening at an AMC theater in Fullerton.
The HCA warned people who attended the screening, or who have visited or worked at the facility, may have been exposed to the highly infectious disease and to monitor for symptoms.
“Measles is a highly contagious and potentially severe disease that causes fever, rash, cough, and red, watery eyes,” said Dr. Nichole Quick, Interim County Health Officer. “It spreads very easily by air and by direct contact with an infected person and is contagious from approximately four days before the rash appears through four days after the rash appears. The MMR vaccine is a simple, inexpensive, and very effective measure to prevent the spread of this serious virus.”
Reported cases of measles in 2019 have topped more than 700, a record for the past decade and well ahead of 2017 where 667 cases were reported for the entire year. According to the Center for Disease Control, U.S. states that have reported cases of measles are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, Tennessee, and Washington.
Measles “outbreaks” which the CDC defines as 3 or more reported cases in a geographical area and which are currently ongoing include Rockland County and New York City, in New York; LA, Sacramento and Butte County California. Outbreaks have also been reported in New Jersey, Michigan, Georgia, and Maryland, the CDC said.