Measles Update #12

Current Measles Surveillance

As of this date there are no new confirmed measles cases or any cases under investigation in San Juan County. Since March 28, there have been 6 confirmed cases of measles among San Juan County residents and one case in a Kitsap County resident that was contracted in San Juan County. All the known cases are now beyond the contagious period and won’t produce any new exposures. The San Juan County Health Department will continue to monitor for any further cases or symptoms during the next few weeks. The CDC recommends that we all monitor for possible measles cases for 42 days after the last day that a person was contagious in our area. The final day when we will call the outbreak over is May 25th.

There are, however, known measles cases in both Whatcom County and British Columbia. Therefore, Public Health officials still recommend measles vaccinations for all of our residents. It is prudent to carefully review your and your children’s immunization status so that you are protected against this highly contagious disease. Measles is vaccine-preventable which means that immunization at the proper time intervals will protect you from getting the disease.

While all the known cases have passed the infectious period, additional cases may be present in the community. Individuals can be infectious for up to 4 days before the onset of rash. For this reason San Juan County residents should consider measles as a possibility if they become ill. If you become infected, the symptoms of measles will be present 7-21 days after exposure. Symptoms are high fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes, and a rash of tiny, red spots that starts at the head and spreads to the rest of the body. Measles is especially dangerous for children under 5 years of age, pregnant women, and immunocompromised persons.

All unvaccinated adults and children older than 12 months old should have one dose of MMR now. It is advised that a second dose of MMR be administered 28 days after the first dose for full protection. Those residents, who did receive the first dose of MMR during the initial measles outbreak, should be scheduling their second dose this next month. If a child is over 12 months old and does get two doses of MMR during an outbreak situation, these doses will count as valid for the required school immunizations.

To be considered immune to measles, an individual should have two documented doses of the MMR vaccine. Most adults born before 1957 are presumed to have had measles and are considered to be immune. If a person does not know his or her immunity status, a laboratory test can provide evidence of immunity.

Please continue to monitor for symptoms and remember CALL FIRST before going to your health care provider or the Health Department. If you have questions about measles you can call your healthcare provider or the San Juan Health and Community Services at 378-4474.

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