NEWPORT, Vt. — Vermont health officials are investigating several linked illnesses in Orleans County that they suspect are measles, and North Country Hospital in Newport has begun checking visitors for signs of the disease.

The Vermont Department of Health confirmed the investigation in a statement Monday, WCAX reported. The department said lab work is underway to determine whether the illnesses are in fact measles. While it waits for results, it is handling them as measles under its standard response procedures, according to the statement.

Health officials said most Vermonters face little risk from the situation.

At the Newport hospital, visitors now have their temperature taken and are asked whether they have symptoms, the hospital said. It said the checks will stay in place for the foreseeable future. Hospital officials told WCAX they put the measures in place once state health officials warned that someone in the region might have measles.

WCAX's report did not say how many people are suspected of having the disease, how old they are, which towns they live in or how they might have been exposed. It also did not identify any public places where people may have come into contact with the virus, or say when test results are expected.