Buncombe County health officials said Thursday that a new case of measles has been confirmed in an adult, bringing the county’s total to seven since the start of the year.
During a briefing with reporters, the county’s Public Health Director Ellis Matheson said the department is continuing contact tracing and urging residents to review their vaccination status.
The Buncombe County case was one of three new infections reported across the state in Friday’s update to the measles dashboard. North Carolina now has 21 confirmed cases since late December. Many of the infections across the state have been linked to a large outbreak in neighboring South Carolina, where 950 cases have been reported.
To protect the person’s privacy, no additional identifying information about the latest cases is being released.
Exposure locations
Health officials said individuals may have been exposed at the following locations:
Novant Health GoHealth Urgent Care 349 New Leicester Highway, Asheville Feb. 4 | Noon to 3:45 p.m. Watch for symptoms through Feb. 25.
MAHEC Family Health Center – Biltmore 123 Hendersonville Road, Asheville Feb. 6 | 2:45 to 7:30 p.m. Watch for symptoms through Feb. 27.
Separately, officials said a person with measles who is not a Buncombe County resident visited multiple Asheville locations while infectious on Feb. 3, including:
- The Inn on Biltmore Estate
- Goodwill Store, 51 Mills Gap Road
- Goodwill Store, 86 South Tunnel Road
Those exposure windows extend through Feb. 24.
Public health officials are conducting contact tracing and ask anyone who was at one of the listed locations and has not been contacted to call the North Carolina Public Health Outreach Team at 844-628-7223.
Matheson urged residents to check their vaccination status. “If you haven’t yet, now is absolutely the time to make sure you know your immunity status. And if you need to get an MMR vaccine, now is the time,” she said.
Measles is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease that spreads through the air and can remain infectious for up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area. Symptoms typically begin with fever, cough, runny nose and red or watery eyes, followed by a rash.
Health officials urge anyone who develops symptoms to stay home and call ahead before visiting a health care provider or emergency department.
