Published: April 10, 2009 11:41 pm      

Measles linked to EMS conference

EBENSBURG — Emergency personnel from across the region who attended a conference at Seven Springs Mountain Resort may have come in contact with an individual infected with measles.

In an alert issued Friday, the state Health Department said at least six measles cases in western Pennsylvania have been traced to a traveler from India who attended the Somerset County conference March 26.

Officials suspect there are other measles cases that have yet to be confirmed.

The person from India, who has not been identified, was in the Seven Springs Snowflake Room and the main dining room between 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on that date.

While no numbers could be confirmed, emergency services officials from Cambria and Somerset counties said they are confident some of those in attendance were local emergency responders.

“Almost definitely people from Cambria County were there,” said Brian Feist, executive director of Cambria County Department of Emergency Services. “It’s an annual event. That’s a big thing with our ambulance services.”

The training was sponsored by Emergency Medical Services Institute of Allegheny County, a multicounty out-of-hospital medical services oversight agency and a division of the state Health Department.

Some Somerset County EMS personnel would have attended the conference, said Rick Lohr, executive director of Somerset County Department of Emergency Services.

“I’m sure there are people who attended, but none of my staff went,” Lohr said.

Along with one day at the EMS conference, the traveler also visited the emergency rooms of UPMC Children’s Hospital and the Alle-Kiski Medical Center. The person also traveled on several public transit buses in Pittsburgh in late March.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Web site says the disease can cause more serious problems – such as ear infections, pneumonia, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and even death.

The CDC says that although measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, it still is common in many other countries. Worldwide, 20 million cases of measles occur each year.

The virus can be imported by foreign visitors or returning travelers who are not fully protected against the disease.

Close to 90 percent of the measles cases reported this year in the United States either were acquired abroad or linked to imported cases.

Measles symptoms include fever, rash, cough, runny nose or red watery eyes, said Stacy Kriedeman, state Health Department spokeswoman.

“We want people to make sure they take notice so that if they have any of these symptoms they contact their primary care doctor,” she said.