U.S. Embassy Athens, Greece
Security and Emergency Message for U.S. Citizens: Health and Safety Announcement from Center for Disease Control and Prevention
December 22, 2017
Health officials in Greece have reported an outbreak of measles.
Measles is a disease caused by a virus that is spread through the air by breathing, coughing, or sneezing. Measles virus is highly contagious and can remain so for up to 2 hours in the air or on surfaces. Symptoms of measles are rash, high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes.
CDC recommends that travelers to Greece(https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/greece) protect themselves by making sure they are vaccinated against measles with the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine. . Before departure from the United States, infants (6 through 11 months of age) should have 1 dose of MMR vaccine, and adults and children over 1 year of age should have 2 doses of MMR vaccine separated by at least 28 days.
Clinicians should keep measles in mind when treating patients with fever and rash, especially if the patient has recently traveled internationally.
Learn more about preventing measles and what to do if you think you have it on the measles page for travelers.
For further information:
- See the State Department’s travel website for the Worldwide Caution, Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, and Greece Country Specific Information.
- Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program(STEP) to receive security messages and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
- Contact the U.S. Embassy in Greece, located at 91 Vasilisis Sophias Avenue, at (+30) 210-720-2414, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.Monday through Friday. After-hours emergency number for U.S. citizens is (+30) 210-720-2490.
- Call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or +1-202-501-4444 from other countries from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).
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