The Allegheny County Health Department said an unvaccinated minor under the age of 18 tested positive for measles and is recovering at home.
This is the first confirmed case of measles involving an Allegheny County resident this year, according to the Department of Health’s announcement Monday.
The Department of Health said people who visited the Target store at Pine Creek Mall on McKnight Road between 3:45 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1, may have been exposed. The store is located in McCandless.
“Not happy. But I’m confident I got enough vaccine…,” said Wexford resident Allison Arend, who said she was at the McCandless Target during the possible exposure period. “I feel pretty confident, but not really happy that this happened at my home, Target.”
Health officials said no additional information about the patient would be released, citing privacy reasons, but they said there had been no school-related exposures.
“Measles is a respiratory virus, and it spreads from person to person through respiratory droplets, but also through small airborne particles,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician based in Pittsburgh. “A person can be in a room and have measles, then leave that room; an hour later, someone else walks into that room and is infected.”
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So far in 2026, the Pennsylvania Department of Health has reported 1,004 measles cases and five measles-related deaths statewide. Adalja called the outbreak unprecedented.
“The reason this outbreak is so large is simple: it’s because there aren’t enough people vaccinated. And it’s finding unvaccinated individuals in many different communities across the state,” Adalja said. “It is the most contagious infectious disease we know of.”
County health officials said unvaccinated people who think they may have been exposed should contact their health care provider. They added that it is important to call ahead before going to a healthcare facility after potential exposure.
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