Communicable Disease
Epidemiology
Current Issues -- Measles in King County
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Imported Measles in King County (posted 12/12/06)Public Health - Seattle & King County reported a suspected case of measles December 8, which was confirmed at the Public Health Laboratories on December 9, 2006. The illness was recognized by an astute healthcare worker, which helped limit additional exposures. The case is a 30 year old who traveled December 2nd through the 8th from Italy to Seattle by way of San Francisco, CA; Las Vegas, NV; the Grand Canyon in AZ; and Monument Valley in UT. His onset of illness was December 3 and he developed a rash December 6, 2006. His infectious period was December 2-11, 2006. We have contacted the affected state and local health departments and are working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine to identify airline passengers and others who may have been exposed to measles virus during the patient’s infectious period. Healthcare providers should be alert for the possibility of measles in anyone with a febrile rash illness – especially when they have traveled from an area where measles is endemic. Measles is characterized by fever, cough, coryza and conjunctivitis followed in several days by a maculopapular rash that begins on the face and spreads downward. Illness caused by measles in susceptible people is usually moderate but is often severe enough to require hospitalization and may result in pneumonia, encephalitis or death. Measles is highly infectious, but the risk that any one person has been exposed in Seattle by this case is small. However, anyone who is not immune to measles and who visited an area at the same time that the traveler with measles was present and contagious should contact their healthcare provider. In some circumstances, measles can be prevented with immunization or immune globulin. This is a good opportunity to remember the benefit of measles immunization. Two doses of measles-containing vaccine are required for school entry in Washington. Most people born before January 1, 1957 have been exposed to natural measles and are considered immune, as is anyone who has received at least one dose of measles-containing vaccine after 1968. We encourage people who are susceptible to be immunized. Updated locations and times where persons may have been exposed to measles in King County will be available on Public Health Seattle and King County’s website and their Public Health hotline at 206-296-4949. |
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