Clark County Confirms Diagnosis of 14 Measles Cases, 3 More Suspected
The Clark County Public Health Officials said they have confirmed 14 cases of measles and three other cases are suspected since January 1, 2019. On Wednesday, they confirmed the diagnosed of 14 cases of measles, while three are suspected to have measles, so far.
12 of the measles cases have hit children between the age group of 1 and 10. Two measles cases hit children between the ages 11 and 18. All of the measles outbreaks in Clark County have been among children.
Public Health Department says thousands may have an exposure at public places, schools, churches, and medical offices. Health officials opine many may have also been exposed at the nearby IKEA store and the Portland International Airport.
Of all the 14 confirmed measles cases, 13 are children who are not vaccinated, while the other case is not verified yet.
Dr. Alan Melnick, the public health official, said “It’s an outbreak because generally the way we define an outbreak is when you have more observed cases than expected cases and generally with measles the expected number is zero,” He further explained that we have a very effective measles vaccine. A couple of shots is 97% effective. And we really should not be seeing measles with such efficacy of the vaccine.
The last time Clark County reported confirmed cases of measles in 2011. Dr. Melnick said this is the largest outbreak with Clark County Public Health during his 13 years. In 1996, 33 cases of measles were confirmed by the Clark County Public health Department.
Dr. Melnick said, “Not all diseases are equal and of vaccine-preventable diseases, measles is a pretty nasty one in terms of its health effects.”
He added before there were measles vaccines (before the early 1960s) every year in the United States, there were about 400 or 500 deaths caused by measles. Measles is a contagious disease and one can easily catch it on minimal exposure. It is one of the more contagious infections.
Health officials said it is not yet clearly understood whether all these cases are connected.
The county has published a long list of possible exposure locations on its website, including medical offices, elementary schools, and churches in Vancouver.
Officials have advised students and staff, who are not having proof of measles immunity, to stay out of schools and childcare settings. Anyone who suspects they have measles symptoms should contact their primary care physician or county health department.
The Clark County Public Health officials have established a helpline related to the measles outbreak. Anyone who has any type of questions regarding public exposures should immediately contact 360-397-8021. The number is working from 9 am to 5 pm on a daily basis, including weekends.
About Measles
Measles is extremely contagious, serious and can be spread through sneezes or coughs. Vaccination is probably the best way to avail protection against measles. The signs and symptoms of measles include fever, cough, a runny nose, red/itchy eyes, skin rashes that may start at the head and then spread throughout the body. The affected individual is contagious four days before the rash shows up and four days after the rash appears.
