Another measles case has been detected in Fairfax County, this time in the Lorton area.
According to the Virginia Department of Health, an adult who recently traveled abroad has been diagnosed with measles after visiting a local grocery store and two Inova facilities, potentially exposing other people.
Possible exposure sites include:
- Giant Food (8941 Ox Road in Lorton) between 3:30-5:45 p.m. last Wednesday (Feb. 11)
- Inova-GoHealth Urgent Care in Lorton Marketplace (9427 Lorton Market Street), between 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Friday (Feb. 13)
- Inova HealthPlex Lorton Emergency Room (9321 Sanger Street) between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 14)
State health officials are asking anyone who visited those locations during those times to fill out an online survey reporting their potential exposure.
“Public health officials will follow up with respondents if additional actions are needed,” VDH said.
People who are up to date with their measles vaccinations don’t need to seek treatment at this time, but anyone who isn’t fully vaccinated or otherwise immune should immediately contact their health care provider or local health department, VDH said.
From the state health department:
Watch for symptoms of measles for 21 days after the potential exposure. Monitoring for symptoms is especially important for people who are not fully vaccinated or otherwise immune to measles.
- If you notice symptoms of measles, immediately isolate yourself by staying home. Contact your healthcare provider right away. If you need to seek healthcare, call ahead before going to your healthcare provider’s office or the emergency room to notify them that you may have been exposed to measles and ask them to call the local health department. This call will help protect other patients and staff.
- The most likely time you would become sick would be between February 18 and March 7.
- Contact your local health department or email epi_response@vdh.virginia.gov to discuss any additional recommendations.
This is now the eighth measles case reported in Virginia so far this year and the seventh in the northern region, surpassing the five cases reported in all of 2025.
Other exposure sites have included multiple businesses and an apartment complex in Reston and Herndon, Fort Belvoir’s medical center, Inova Fairfax Hospital and Dulles International Airport. In addition, a child and an out-of-state visitor reportedly traveled through Reagan National Airport and on a Yellow Line Metro train in late January while infected.
Six of the cases in Virginia this year have involved children 4 years old or younger.
As of last Thursday (Feb. 12), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed 910 measles cases in the U.S. since the start of 2026, though the agency acknowledges some additional “probable” cases have been reported by states. An outbreak in South Carolina that began in early July 2025 had expanded to 950 people by last Friday, becoming the country’s largest in three decades.
More from the Virginia health department:
Measles is a highly contagious illness that can spread easily through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. Measles symptoms usually appear in two stages. In the first stage, most people have a fever of greater than 101 degrees, runny nose, watery red eyes, and a cough. These symptoms usually start seven to 14 days after being exposed. The second stage starts three to five days after symptoms start, when a rash begins to appear on the face and spreads to the rest of the body. People with measles are contagious from four days before the rash appears through four days after the rash appeared.
Measles is preventable through a safe and effective MMR vaccine. Two doses of the vaccine are given to provide lifetime protection. Virginia has high measles vaccination rates, with approximately 95% of kindergarteners fully vaccinated against measles. However, infants who are too young to be vaccinated, and others who are not vaccinated, are at high risk of developing measles if they are exposed. Infants six months through 11 months of age who will be traveling internationally, or to an outbreak setting, should receive one dose of MMR vaccine prior to travel. Talk to your healthcare provider if you have questions about the MMR vaccine.
For more information about measles visit www.vdh.virginia.gov/measles.
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