Overview
- Health officials confirmed five Maryland residents tested positive for measles after traveling together and warned that anyone in the Carroll Hospital Center emergency‑room waiting room on Monday, July 13 between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. may have been exposed.
- Those five cases raise Maryland’s 2026 total to nine confirmed infections and follow earlier travel‑linked cases reported in April and June.
- The Maryland Department of Health says measles spreads easily through the air, viral particles can linger for up to two hours after an infected person leaves, and common early symptoms include high fever, runny nose, cough, red watery eyes and a spreading rash.
- Officials urge people to confirm protection by having received two doses of a measles‑containing vaccine or being born before 1957, to contact local health departments if not fully vaccinated, and to monitor for symptoms for 21 days after possible exposure.
- The state warning comes as the CDC reported 2,231 U.S. measles cases as of July 9, reflecting a broad national uptick that health authorities say increases the risk of imported cases triggering local clusters.