Health officials have confirmed a case of measles in Edwardsville, Illinois, and are warning anyone who dined at a popular Main Street barbecue restaurant earlier this month to watch for symptoms. The Madison County Health Department says people who were at Salt + Smoke, located at 410 N. Main St., between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Sept. 10 may have been exposed to the virus.
The health department is urging anyone who was at the restaurant during that window to monitor themselves for measles symptoms for 21 days following the potential exposure, according to St. Louis Public Radio. That monitoring period would extend into early October for anyone who ate at Salt + Smoke that evening. Measles symptoms typically include fever, cough, runny nose and the disease's telltale red rash, which usually starts around the head or face before spreading across the rest of the body, per the same report.
A Second Case Emerges Across The River
The Edwardsville case is not the only one health officials are tracking in the region this month. KMOV reports that the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced a possible measles exposure in the St. Louis area, tied to a third Missouri case linked to a Franklin County resident as of Sept. 22.
Missouri officials said potential exposures occurred at several locations between Sept. 12 and Sept. 14. The most notable site was Busch Stadium, where someone with measles was present between 6 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 12, the station's report notes. The individual also visited bars and other businesses in St. Louis, Chesterfield and Pacific during that window.
What Remains Unclear
It has not been established whether the Edwardsville case and the Missouri cases are connected. Health officials have not released details about the infected individuals, including their vaccination status or current condition, and it is unclear whether Salt + Smoke or any of the Missouri locations have taken any additional steps in response to the exposures.
Anyone who visited the listed locations during the specified windows and later develops fever, cough, runny nose or a rash is advised to watch closely for the 21-day period that follows potential exposure, based on the guidance issued by Illinois health officials.
