Health department staff members enter the Andrews County Health Department measles clinic carrying doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Andrews, Texas. (AP Photo/Annie Rice)
Measles cases expected after regionwide exposure in Central Pennsylvania
By Lucy Albright/LNP | LancasterOnline
Health department staff members enter the Andrews County Health Department measles clinic carrying doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Andrews, Texas. (AP Photo/Annie Rice)
A Penn State Health doctor expects cases of measles to appear in the wake of an out-of-state visitor exposing others at several sites across the region, including one in Lancaster County.
As a result of the exposures, the state Department of Health issued a warning Thursday and has urged residents to be on alert for symptoms.
The exposures came from a visitor from another state who made stops in four Pennsylvania counties: Adams, Clearfield, Lancaster and York.
In Lancaster County, those who were at the Midway Mennonite Reception Center, 210 E. Lexington Road, Warwick Township, on Aug. 8 and Aug. 9 may have come into contact with the visitor who was contagious with measles, according to the state Department of Health.
Locations, dates and times of other exposures include:
• Sapp Bros. Travel Center, 15196 Clearfield Shawville Highway, Lawrence Township, Aug. 5 between 1 and 3 p.m.
• Farmhouse Restaurant at the Barn Resort, 75 Cunningham Road., Cumberland Township, Aug. 7 between 5 and 8:30 p.m.
• Hickory Falls Entertainment Center, 110 Hickory Lane, Penn Township, Aug. 7, between 7 and 10 p.m.
• Garber Mennonite Fellowship, 6082 Old Hanover Road, Heidelberg Township, Aug. 10, between 8:30 a.m. and two hours after the conclusion of services.
In its 2023 IRS tax filing, Midway Mennonite Reception Center is listed as a tax-exempt 501(c)3 corporation with a mission “to provide a conservative meeting facility for the church and its functions of weddings, funeral meals, ordination meals, special topic meetings, youth gatherings and other church functions and meetings.” A message left with a contact for the center Thursday was not returned.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Call ahead before you seek care — the doctor’s office, emergency department or urgent care facility will need to take precautions for your arrival.
When you call:
Describe your symptoms
Report any possible measles exposures you’ve had
Ask for instructions on how to come in safely
You may also call the Pennsylvania Department of Health at 877-PA-HEALTH to receive guidance on what to do if you were potentially exposed and have symptoms.
What to watch for and do
“This most recent exposure emphasizes the importance for parents to ensure that their children are vaccinated against measles,” Dr. Pia Fenimore, a pediatrician at Lancaster Pediatric Associates and vice chair of pediatrics of Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health said by email Thursday. “Exposures cannot be controlled, the best and only defense for measles is vaccination.”
Fenimore added that the vaccine is very safe and effective, and said that reports of autism and other harms are false. Parents who are concerned should speak with their health care provider or seek reliable information from online sources such as such as Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Vaccine Education Center or nonprofit organization Immunize.org, she said.
Measles is one of the most contagious known pathogens, said Dr. Fahmida McGann, infectious disease physician at Penn State Health Lime Spring Outpatient Center.
“Nine out of 10 people who are vulnerable to measles will get measles,” McGann said Thursday.
Those include people who are unvaccinated, undervaccinated or immunocompromised — a category that McGann said includes people with severe liver disease or uncontrolled diabetes.
With the recent exposures, McGann said she expects there to be a couple of cases in the coming weeks.
People who have been exposed to measles and don’t know their vaccination status can receive a dose of the vaccine to help protect them, something that’s usually recommended to be done within 72 hours, McGann said — but this is still a good idea even if more time has passed.
The presence of the virus here is of particular concern as vaccination rates of kindergarten and seventh grade students in Lancaster County have fallen below the levels needed to maintain herd immunity against measles. During the 2024-2025 school year, rates of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine were 88.5% in kindergarten and 85.4% in seventh grade, according to data from the state Department of Health. Herd immunity is the level of immunity needed in a population to stop uncontrolled spread of an illness, and is typically considered to be around 95% for measles.
Symptoms begin with fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes (conjunctivitis), followed by a rash that starts on the head and spreads downward, according to the state Department of Health. Without proper protection or supportive care, measles can be deadly. Symptoms can start seven to 21 days after a person was exposed.
People who believe they were exposed to measles and are experiencing symptoms should contact their health care provider or call the state Department of Health toll-free hotline at 877-PA-HEALTH. All residents are encouraged to monitor for symptoms.
Measles a nationwide concern this year
While the nation experiences its highest level of measles cases since 1992, Lancaster County recorded one case earlier this year, in an unvaccinated individual who visited Lancaster County following a trip to Texas and was treated at WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital, as LNP | LancasterOnline reported. No further measles cases in Lancaster County have been reported until now.
Until this year, Lancaster County reported no measles cases since 2019, a year when a nationwide outbreak totaled 1,274 cases. In 2025, the United States has seen 1,375 measles cases so far as of Aug. 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Texas — where officials have recently declared the end of a measles outbreak that led to 762 cases — the Mennonite population has been among those impacted by the illness.
“Historically and theologically, there has not been any religious teaching against immunization in Mennonite circles,” Steven Nolt, professor of history and Anabaptist Studies at Elizabethtown College, told the Associated Press for a February story. “There’s no religious prohibition, no body of religious writing on it at all. That said, more culturally conservative Mennonite (and Amish) groups have tended to be under-immunized or partially-immunized.”
Measles symptoms
Early symptoms appear seven to 14 days after infection and typically include:
High fever (can be over 104 degrees)
Cough
Runny nose
Red, watery eyes (pink eye)
Two to three days after symptoms begin:
Tiny white spots may appear in the mouth
Measles rash appears three to five days after symptoms begin:
Usually begins with flat, red spots on the face at the hairline, which spread to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet
Though the rash can be red, it may look different in people with darker skin
Spots may become joined together, and may have small raised bumps on top of them
A fever of 104 degrees or more can appear with the rash
Common complications
Ear infections
Diarrhea
Severe complications
Hospitalization
Pneumonia
Encephalitis (brain swelling)
Death
Pregnancy complications, such as low birth weight or premature birth, if the mother is unvaccinated
Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a fatal neurological disease that can develop years after a bout of measles
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Eugene Curley
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