Health officials are warning New Jerseyans about the possibility of a case of the measles in Ocean County.

Officials say that doctors at the Center for Health Education Medicine and Dentistry on Route 9 in Lakewood treated a 27-year-old man for a rash earlier this week. Doctors there say that although the patient lacked the high fever typically associated with measles, it is likely that the patient had the illness.

The patient had returned to New Jersey a week ago after an overseas trip. Additional tests will be performed to confirm the diagnosis.

If the patient does in fact have measles, Ocean County health officials will notify anyone who he may have come into contact with.

Meanwhile, health officials are warning the public to look out for signs of illness if they are not vaccinated against the disease.

Ocean County Health Department official Daniel Regenye says that measles is very contagious and is spread through the air.

“It can last on surfaces for up to two hours…so it’s about a 90 percent rate in terms of those who are exposed who are not vaccinated,” he says.

CHEMED Health released a statement that said, “There is a very real danger for those who are not immunized such as infants and those who are immuno-compromised who may come in contact with an infected person."

Symptoms of measles may include a rash, fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, dry cough and sore threat. Regenye says that symptoms may occur one to three weeks after exposure.

“Overall, I would say within Ocean County, we have a really high vaccination rate,” Regenye says. “There's not a specific community concern in general but rather just a smaller pockets of those communities, where that individual or that household does not believe in vaccinations.”

Health officials say that anyone who believes that they have contracted measles should contact their health provider before going out to seek treatment. This is to avoid unnecessary exposure to the public.