On Tuesday, the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) issued a press release stating that an individual with a confirmed measles case traveled through Alabama earlier in the month, making two stops that could have infected other people.

The Tennessee Department of Health alerted ADPH officials of the possible exposure, stating that the person stopped at a truck stop in Livingston and a restaurant in Fort Payne during a time when the infection was still contagious.

“If you suspect you were exposed, it is important for you to call your healthcare provider before being seen in his or her office, follow instructions for reporting, and practice social isolation if you develop any of the signs and symptoms of measles,” said Alabama Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris.

Measles, which was declared eliminated in the United States by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2000, has been breaking out in states across the nation due to people’s fear about the effects of vaccines, despite a mountain of evidence that proves no link between vaccines and other illnesses.

Measles is a viral respiratory illness and a single case will infect up to 95 percent of unvaccinated people exposed to it.

Early symptoms of the illness include high fever, cough, runny nose and red or watery eyes.

Within three days of the first symptoms, an infected person will begin to develop white spots inside the mouth and, within five days, the person will develop a rash on the face that spreads to the neck, arms and legs.

Measles can live for up to two hours on surfaces or in the air and can be spread four days before or after the rash appears.

According to the CDC, one in four people who get infected will be hospitalized, one in 1,000 will develop brain swelling that could lead to brain damage and about the same number will die as a result of the illness, even with top-notch care.

The ADPH press release states that the best defense against measles is two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, the first of which is generally given to children between the ages of 12 and 15 months.

For more information on the illness and vaccine, visit www.alabamapublichealth.gov or call the ADPH Immunization Division at 800-469-4599.