The Delaware County Health Department (DCHD) discovered two instances of measles detected in wastewater samples collected last week.  On Wednesday, June 17, DCHD officials alerted the public and health care providers that instances of measles were detected in two wastewater samples collecte d from a local water treatment plant.   According to the DCHD, the two detections were found in the DELCORA Western Regional Treatment Plant in Chester, Pennsylvania. The first detection was a sample collected on June 9, and the second was a sample collected on June 11.   The DCHD is working closely with Pennsylvania’s Department of Health (DOH) in their ongoing measles surveillance initiatives and preparedness activities. The Pennsylvania DOH is in contact with Delaware County health care providers to ensure that appropriate guidelines for measles are in place.  So far in 2026, Pennsylvania DOH has recorded 67 cases of measles in the state, with its cases in Berks, Chester, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and Montgomery Counties.   The DCHD asks residents and health care providers to ensure families are up to date on their measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. They also ask to keep an eye out for measles symptoms, which include high fever, cough, runny nose, red watery eyes, and spreading rashes.  There is no evidence that measles can be transmitted through contact with untreated wastewater, but instead through air and close contact with infected patients, the DCHD reports.   Measles has shown to be dangerous, especially for babies and young children. About 1 out of 5 patients with measles will be hospitalized, and 1 out of every 1,000 patients with measles could develop brain swelling and possible brain damage, says the DCHD. ...read more read less