Clark County Measles Outbreak Shows No New Cases For Third Day

PORTLAND, OR – It's not time to say that the measles outbreak that has roiled Washington and Oregon is over but there is good news. For the third straight day, the Clark County Health Department says that there have been no new cases diagnosed.

The total hit 58 cases – 53 in Washington and five in Oregon – last Thursday. It has remained at 58 ever since. Three days may be a good sign but officials have to wait three weeks since the last diagnosed case.

The outbreak, the worst ever in the area, was mostly confined to Clark County. The Oregon cases were limited to a handful of cases though one of them was a Blazers game at the Moda Center, which had officials very concerned at first.

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While officials are still – and will be for a while – studying the outbreak, one factor that made it easier for the measles to spread was high numbers of kids who had received the MMR vaccine.

Washington – particularly Clark County – has had a growing problem with declining immunizations rates. The number of kindergartners who have been immunized for measles has dropped 12 percent over the past 15 years.

Of the 53 confirmed cases in Washington, 46 are people who had not been vaccinated against measles and six cases in which doctors have not yet been able to determine if the person had been vaccinated.

The majority of those cases, 38 of the 53 are people are between 1 and 10-years-old. Thirteen of them are between 11 and 18, one is between 19 and 29-years-old, and one is between 30 and 39-years-old.

Clark County Public Health has set up a hotline for people to call with questions related to the investigation. The number is 360-397-8021 and is staffed from 9 a.m. through 7 p.m. every day.

They also say that anyone who thinks that they may have been exposed and may have symptoms are urged to call their doctor before going so arrangements can be made to minimize the risk to other patients.

Officials add that anyone with questions about measles infection or the measles vaccine should call their primary care provider or their local county health department:

• Clark County Public Health, 360.397.8021
• Multnomah County Public Health, 503.988.3406
• Washington County Public Health, 503.846.3594
• Clackamas County Public Health, 503.655.8411

Photo via Centers for Disease Control.