Health officials in Washington, DC have issued a warning that attendees of the March for Life Rally, held last month, may have been exposed to measles. This announcement comes after the detection of multiple confirmed measles cases linked to several locations across the district.

In a public advisory, the DC Department of Health disclosed that individuals infected with measles had visited numerous sites in the area while they were contagious. Consequently, the department is alerting those who may have been at these locations about the potential exposure risk.

The March for Life Rally, which attracted thousands of anti-abortion advocates to the National Mall on January 23, is one of the key sites where exposure might have occurred. The health advisory also listed the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, several Catholic University campus buildings, Reagan National Airport, various Metro train routes, and the Amtrak concourse at Union Station as places of concern from January 21 to 27.

Additionally, a case involving a Virginia resident, who was confirmed to have measles, was reported at the Children’s National Hospital emergency department on February 2. This visit happened between 11:15 am and 11:45 am, while the individual was contagious. It remains uncertain whether this person had received the full measles vaccination.

The health department reiterated its message, urging anyone who was present at these locations during the specified times to be mindful of possible exposure to the virus. This situation underscores the importance of vaccination and vigilance in preventing the spread of infectious diseases.

‘DC Health is informing people who were at these locations that they may have been exposed,’ the health department notice said.

The case comes as the US is facing its largest measles outbreak in decades, with 733 confirmed cases reported across 20 states so far this year alone. According to the CDC, the vast majority of these cases involve individuals who were either unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.

Without the protection of both doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, measles can cause a characteristic rash on the torso and limbs, high fever and a cough. And in severe cases, it can lead to pneumonia, encephalitis, or brain swelling and blindness. About one in 500 children die from measles annually.

Protestors at this year’s March for Life may have been exposed to measles, health officials announced this week. Pictured above are activists at the event on January 23, 2026

The above CDC map shows confirmed measles cases so far in 2026

As of February 5, four people in Virginia have been confirmed to have measles with no cases of the virus so far in the District.

Measles is an extremely infectious disease transmitted through the air by an infected person’s breath, coughs or sneezes. Its symptoms develop in two distinct phases.

The initial phase typically involves a high fever (over 101 degrees Fahrenheit), a runny nose, red, watery eyes and a cough, beginning 7 to 14 days after exposure. The second phase starts 3 to 5 days later, marked by a rash that usually begins on the face before spreading over the entire body.

Individuals are contagious from four days before the rash emerges until four days after it appears.

The measles virus is highly contagious and can remain infectious in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours after an infected person leaves the area, such as a church or airport terminal.

Measles has now spread within the US for a full year, putting the country at risk of losing its hard-won ‘eliminated’ designation.

The ongoing outbreak in South Carolina is intensifying, with state health officials confirming 13 new cases Tuesday, bringing the total to 933, making it the largest single measles outbreak in the United States in over thirty years.

Currently, 235 people are under quarantine and six are in isolation. While 95 percent of cases remain concentrated in Spartanburg County, the virus is spreading geographically, with health authorities now investigating a newly confirmed case in Lancaster County whose source of exposure is still unknown.

The outbreak is overwhelmingly affecting the unvaccinated. Of 876 patients with known details, 859 were unvaccinated. Children and teenagers are bearing the brunt of the illness, with more than two-thirds of all cases (594) occurring in those aged five to 17, and another 245 cases in children under five.