Buncombe County confirms three measles cases; officials urge vaccination and caution

Buncombe County health officials confirmed three cases of measles and urged residents to verify their immunity and avoid exposing others while public health completes contact tracing. The county said all three cases are siblings living in the same household and that people who were in the Mission Hospital emergency department waiting room at 509 Biltmore Avenue in Asheville between 2:00 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 4 may have been exposed.

"We recently have 3 confirmed cases of measles here in Buncombe County. All are from siblings living in the same household," Stacy Wood, Buncombe County communications manager, said at the online briefing. Wood provided the county communicable disease line, (828) 250-6100, for anyone who believes they were present during the exposure window.

County doctors at the briefing described measles as a highly contagious airborne viral illness. "Most likely, 9 out of 10 people are going to get infected with the virus" if…