ST. LOUIS—The City of St. Louis Department of Health has issued a public health advisory after a person with the measles visited the Saint Louis Aquarium on April 30. The department says specifics about the patient’s visit is limited and more information will be provided if it becomes available.
“I want to sincerely thank the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services for their partnership and meeting with our communicable diseases, epidemiology, and communications leadership last night to align our response efforts,” says Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis, Director of Health for the City of St. Louis.
An aquarium spokesperson said guests shouldn’t worry as they clean each surface multiple times a day and the CDC states that measles may only live on surfaces for up to two hours.
“The Aquarium maintains a strict cleaning and disinfecting protocol that we focus on every day,” said a spokesperson. “So, any areas the infected person might have touched have been cleaned MULTIPLE times since April 30.”
As of Monday afternoon, the aquarium told Spectrum News that it had yet to hear from the Missouri Health Department but say it looks forward to communicating about the case with them.
“This was likely a misunderstanding or miscommunication, and I believe they’ve now been in contact with public health officials,” said a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Health. “The local public health agency typically leads the local investigation work in these instances.”
Animals cannot get measles, per the aquarium, but the health and safety for all people and animals is the aquariums top priority.
The health director also says the Pandemic Task Force, under the leadership of Dr. Alex Garza, reconvened last month at her request to “support renewed regional preparedness efforts, adding specifically around this topic.”