BART issues measles warning; commuters respond
If many of us weren’t already squeamish about invisible nastiness lurking on BART, things got a whole lot worse this week. Yesterday, BART officials announced that a Contra Costa County resident with measles commuted between the East Bay and San Francisco on Feb. 4 through 6, potentially exposing countless riders to the virus.
Awesome.
According to BART, the person traveled between the Lafayette and Montgomery Street Stations during the morning and evening commutes from 6 to 8 a.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. and spent time at San Francisco’s E & O Kitchen and Bar on the evening of Feb. 4. The San Francisco Chronicle has since identified the rider as an employee of LinkedIn. This is not the kind of networking we envisioned!
Naturally, you guys on Twitter are quick with your sarcastic wit:
So, in summary, @linkedin is spreading measles as part of its growth strategy http://t.co/EBjmsDhIyu
— John Colucci (@johncolucci) February 12, 2015
I endorse you for: infectious diseases! BART Riders Exposed To Measles From Infected #LinkedIn Employee http://t.co/DLXRWDHN4R
— Jake Adelstein/中本哲史 (@jakeadelstein) February 12, 2015
I was surprised by that LinkedIn/BART/measles story, but I should have noticed it from that guy that just added me pic.twitter.com/Xl7Id2BGCs
— Matt Haughey (@mathowie) February 11, 2015
BART was quick to point out in a press release that people who have been vaccinated or have had the disease before are extremely unlikely to catch measles, but it said those who haven’t are at high risk if exposed [insert joke about BART not going to Marin here].
The agency warned that because measles can stay in the air for up to two hours and that BART trains circulate throughout the system, even riders who did not travel with the infected person could have been exposed. However, all BART cars are cleaned with an industrial-grade disinfectant at the end of the line and at night (phew?).
Pic by Paul Sullivan on Flickr, of a BART train that probably wasn’t measles-ed on.