Anyone who was in the emergency department waiting room at Carroll Hospital in Westminster on the evening of Tuesday, July 21, may have been exposed to measles, the Maryland Department of Health said, marking the second exposure warning tied to the hospital in less than two weeks.
The department confirmed a case of measles in a Central Maryland resident in a July 23 announcement and identified the waiting room of the Carroll Hospital Emergency Department, at 200 Memorial Ave., as a possible exposure site on July 21 between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. Measles spreads easily through the air, and the virus can linger for up to two hours after an infected person has left an area.
The warning comes eight days after the state flagged the same waiting room as a potential exposure site for the afternoon of July 13. That earlier case was one of five Central Maryland residents who tested positive after traveling together to a U.S. location with an active outbreak, according to the department. Officials have not said whether the newly confirmed case is connected to that cluster.
Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, but cases have climbed since early 2025, driven largely by unvaccinated travelers infected abroad, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The five earlier Central Maryland cases in July were linked to travel elsewhere in the United States, not overseas.
This year now outpaces the previous nine years combined
The 12 cases confirmed so far in 2026 equal Maryland's combined total for the previous nine years — 2017 through 2025 — and more than double the five reported in 2019, the next-highest year on record in the state's published counts, which begin in 2017
Source: MDH measles data (2017–2026)
The state health department said contact tracing is ongoing to notify people who may have come into contact with the individual who tested positive. To protect the patient's privacy, officials said they would not release additional information.
Westminster Wire has requested comment from LifeBridge Health, which owns Carroll Hospital, and the Maryland Department of Health. After the July 13 exposure, Sharon Boston, director of public relations for LifeBridge Health, said hospital staff "acted quickly to take precautions to reduce any potential further exposure" and that patients with suspected or confirmed measles are placed under airborne precautions in a negative-pressure isolation room.
What to do if you think you may have been exposed
People who were at the hospital during the July 21 exposure window should confirm whether they are immune to measles and monitor themselves for symptoms for 21 days, the state health department said. Two doses of a measles-containing vaccine, or being born before 1957, generally confer protection. Those who are not fully vaccinated and may have been exposed are advised to contact a health care provider or their local health department as soon as possible, because post-exposure treatment may be an option. Immunization records can be requested through the state's My Immunization Record service.
Early symptoms, according to the department, include a fever above 101 degrees, a runny nose, cough, and red, watery eyes, followed one to four days later by a rash that starts on the face and spreads down the body. Symptoms typically appear 10 to 14 days after exposure but can take as long as 21 days. A person with measles is contagious from four days before the rash appears until four days after it begins. The department advised anyone who develops symptoms to call a provider before going to a waiting room or emergency department so the facility can take steps to prevent further spread.
The department recommends that all eligible people be fully vaccinated against measles. The MMR vaccine is routinely given at 12 to 15 months of age for the first dose and at 4 to 6 years of age for the second dose. The vaccine is covered by most health insurance plans and is available to eligible children through the Vaccines for Children Program; uninsured or underinsured adults can check with their local health department about free vaccines through the Maryland Vaccine Program.
The Carroll County Health Department offers a range of vaccines and holds periodic vaccine clinics at 290 South Center Street in Westminster; the office can be reached at 410-876-2152. Maryland immunization records can be requested through a healthcare provider or the state's MyIR website. Full guidance and exposure information on measles is available from the Maryland Department of Health.
This is a developing story and will be updated as officials respond.