Pittsburgh-area mother says her 2-month-old was exposed to measles at Children's Hospital

A Pittsburgh-area mother is sharing her story after she says her daughter was exposed to measles at UPMC Children's Hospital.

Lauren Shoup is a mom of three. She says she's never had an issue at Children's Hospital, and the hospital has treated her two older children with care.

However, she adds that her 2-month-old was one of 10 children exposed to a confirmed case of the virus a couple of weeks ago.

"There has to always be a protocol in place for something like this, so I would just like to see Children's take accountability for this and do better," Shoup said.

A photo of Shoup's daughter was taken on Aug. 27, during what was supposed to be a routine appointment at the hospital.

"Six days later, we were contacted by the hospital saying she was exposed to measles," Shoup said. "It's terrifying; my daughter is 2 months old. She can't be vaccinated until 12 months for measles."

Shoup said it's what happened after the call that was more concerning. She went to the hospital the next day for her baby girl to get an antibody injection.

"At that appointment, I said to the nurse, 'Do we need to quarantine? How do we prevent the spread? What is the incubation period?' I had a lot of questions, and they said, 'We don't know, we don't know.'"

Shoup says she was directed to call the health department, then a direct line for measles exposure. She called several times and left a voicemail.

"Finally, the following day, someone called me from infectious control and told me we should have been in control for three days. We needed to remain in quarantine for 28 days total, but for those first three days we'd been in public," Shoup recalled.

On UPMC's website, they provide information on how measles spreads, signs and symptoms, who is most at risk, treatment and when to see a doctor.

Under the section on when to see a doctor, it states: "If you think you have been exposed to measles and you are not immune, you should contact your primary care physician immediately. They may need to take precautionary steps so you do not expose others to measles."

Shoup says the hospital didn't do that.

"We were in a crowded waiting room at Children's, so we've infected who knows how many people potentially because of the negligence of Children's Hospital to provide this information," Shoup said.

For now, the next few weeks are a waiting game as the little girl remains in quarantine.

"She's healthy right now, but symptoms can take up to 21 days to show up, so we watch every day," Shoup said. "It's sad. She missed her brother's birthday dinner. She can't go to any of their games; they play hockey. She's just missing a lot of family events."

KDKA-TV reached out to UPMC for comment, but has yet to receive a response.