Health officials in the greater New York city area, including Northern New Jersey are warning residents of a health hazard if they open the door to talk to members of the Jehovah Witness religion.

It seems that a couple of tourists from Europe visited the three main Jehovah Witness facilities in the area, exposing everyone they came in contact with to the measles. This is the fourth month in a row that people from Europe who are infected with the measles have traveled to the general New York area.

The three facilities were identified as the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses on New Jersey Avenue in Brooklyn, the Watchtower World Headquarters on Kings Drive in Tuxedo Park and the Watchtower Educational Center on Watchtower Drive in Patterson.

Health officials are warning anyone who has had any contact with or conversations with any Jehovah Witness who do not feel well to seek medical help as soon as possible. Although many people think that measles is a long-conquered childhood illness, they fail to realize that the incidence of measles have been on the rise since a growing number of parents don’t believe in having their kids vaccinated.

What you may not realize is that to date, scientists have identified at least 21 different strains of measles virus – officially referred to as rubeola virus. Worldwide, approximately 2.6 million un-vaccinated people die from the measles every year.

It is highly contagious and can be spread rapidly. Once someone has the measles, there is no specific treatment, hence the importance of the measles vaccine as a preventative measure.

In many cases, measles last about 7-10 days and once a person gets over it, they generally develop their own antibody resistance to the disease and you probably won’t get sick from it again.

Caused by the rubeola virus, the most common symptoms of measles are referred to as the 3 C’s – cough, coryza (runny nose) and conjunctivitis (pink eye). Other symptoms may include watery eyes, sensitivity to light, sneezing, a reddish-brown rash, Koplik’s spots (very small grayish white spots with bluish white centers located in the mouth, cheeks and throat), generalize body aching and a fever of at least 100.4°F.

In more severe cases, measles can result in diarrhea, vomiting, eye infection, laryngitis, bronchitis, difficulty breathing, ear infections (which can lead to loss off hearing) and febrile seizures.

A person with a poor or weak immune system also can develop bacterial pneumonia with the measles.

Although less frequent, there are other possible complications that can occur from a measles infection. They include – hepatitis, encephalitis, thrombocytopenia (low platelet count), eye squinting (causes by eye muscle or nerve damage).

Pregnant women who contract measles are more at risk of having a miscarriage, early delivery or low birth weight of the baby.

Measles vaccines are less common in parts of Europe, which is why European tourists have arrived here with the infection. This should also serve as warning to anyone traveling to Europe, especially if they have never had a measles vaccine.