NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Department of Health continues to investigate a case of
measles in a resident of East Tennessee and notify people who may have been exposed to the
illness through contact with the patient. This investigation has identified two locations the
patient visited in Tennessee where members of the public may have been exposed to measles.
People who were at either of these locations during the dates and times specified below may
have been exposed to measles:
• Mapco
200 Browns Ferry Road, Chattanooga
April 11, 2019 from 7:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.
• Speedway
2148 North Charles G. Seivers Blvd., Clinton
April 12, 2019 from 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Anyone who visited either of these locations during the specified times and dates should do the
following:
• Check your vaccination status. Locate your immunization records. People who have
had two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella or MMR vaccine are protected against
measles and need to take no further action in regard to an exposure to measles.
Contact your health care provider if you cannot locate your immunization records
and/or are not certain if you are immune to measles.
• If you are not immune to measles, watch for symptoms of the illness. Measles
symptoms may include fever, runny nose, body aches, watery eyes and white spots in
the mouth. Several days after these symptoms start, a red, spotty rash typically begins
on the face and spreads over the body. Symptoms may develop any time in the 21 days
following exposure to the illness. Nearly one in three measles patients will develop ear
infections, diarrhea or pneumonia.
• If you develop measles symptoms, stay home and contact your health care
provider. Those with symptoms of measles should first call a health care provider to
make arrangements to visit a health care facility before going to a health care center in
order to prevent further exposure of others to the illness.
“Most people in Tennessee are vaccinated against measles and are protected against this
illness,” said TDH State Epidemiologist Tim Jones, MD. “This appearance of measles is a
reminder about the importance of vaccines in protecting our population, and we urge everyone
who has not been vaccinated to do so now to protect themselves, their families, their coworkers and their communities.”
At this time TDH has confirmed one case of measles in Tennessee this year.
People with questions about what to do to protect themselves against measles should call a
health care provider, the local health department or a hotline established to provide answers to
questions from the public about measles. The hotline number is 865-549-5343; calls to the
hotline will be answered from 7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Central time/8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Eastern time
daily until further notice.
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