Bay Area BART commuters exposed to measles

A person contagious with measles may have exposed Bay Area commuters to the highly infectious virus last week during rush-hour on BART, the city's rapid transit system, CBS San Francisco reports.

According to local public health officials, commuters who traveled between San Francisco's Lafayette and Montgomery stations on February 4, 5 and 6 during both the morning and evening commutes -- from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m -- may have come in contact with the patient before diagnosis. Officials did not disclose the name of the patient.

Health officials said the person's employer was cooperating with the San Francisco Health Department to ensure the safety of any employees who may have been exposed.

Anyone who is not vaccinated against measles is at risk for infection if exposed to the virus. However, health officials said the risk of contracting measles on BART is low. But any public place can be a breeding ground for the virus, which can spread easily through a cough or sneeze and can live outside the body for approximately two hours, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Contra Costa Public Health and the San Francisco Department of Public Health were working together to track the person's movements and are notifying people who were in close contact.

The current nationwide measles outbreak has so far infected at least 166 people in 18 states and the District of Columbia. More than 100 of those cases occurred in California.