Vancouver, Wash. – Clark County Public Health is continuing its measles outbreak investigation. Since Jan. 1, we have identified 53 confirmed cases and two suspect cases. Public Health has not identified any new confirmed cases or locations where people may have been exposed to measles. Public Health has, however, identified locations that can be removed from the list of exposure sites.

Here are the details of the confirmed cases:

Age

• 1 to 10 years: 38 cases
• 11 to 18 years: 13 cases
• 19 to 29 years: one case
• 30 to 39 years: one case

Immunization status

• Unimmunized: 47 cases
• Unverified: five cases
• 1 MMR vaccine: one case

Hospitalization: one case (none currently)

Public Health is not providing any additional information about the one case with one dose of MMR in order to protect the patient’s privacy.

Three suspect cases identified earlier this week as possible measles cases have been ruled out. Specialized testing determined they were experiencing vaccine rash. Five percent of people can experience a benign rash after receiving their first dose of the measles-mumps-rubella, or MMR, vaccine. Public Health will continue to monitor these people because they were unvaccinated when exposed to measles, received one dose of MMR vaccine more than 72 hours after exposure and may still be at risk of developing measles. To prevent illness, one dose of MMR vaccine must be given to unimmunized people within 72 hours of exposure.

We are removing the public exposure locations associated with these three people since the vaccine virus cannot be transmitted to others. The removed exposure locations are: Sea Mar Medical Clinic Salmon Creek (Feb. 1 and Feb. 4), The Vancouver Clinic Salmon Creek (Jan. 30) and Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center Emergency Department (Feb. 2).

For a complete list of exposure sites, visit the Public Health measles investigation webpage.

Clark County Public Health is urging anyone who has been exposed at an identified location and believes they have symptoms of measles to call their health care provider prior to visiting the medical office to make a plan that avoids exposing others in the waiting room. People who believe they have symptoms of measles should not go directly to medical offices, urgent care centers or emergency departments (unless experiencing a medical emergency) without calling in advance.

Additional resources

For information about additional exposure sites in Oregon, linked to the confirmed case in Multnomah County, visit the Oregon Health Authority measles webpage. For information about other measles cases in Washington, visit the Washington State Department of Health measles webpage.

Public Health has established a call center for questions related to the investigation. Anyone who has questions about public exposures should call 360.397.8021. The call center is open daily.

Anyone with questions about their measles immunity or the measles vaccine should contact their primary care provider. Clark County Public Health does not provide immunizations or testing for immunity.

If you are unsure of your family's immunization status, you can view, download and print your family's immunization information online at MyIR or request a copy of your immunization record from the Washington State Department of Health.

CONTACT
Marissa Armstrong
communications specialist
Public Health
360.518.1731
marissa.armstrong@clark.wa.gov