Measles outbreak in Clark County, Washington

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDJan 28 2019

A public health emergency has been declared in Washington with over two dozen cases of measles. Last Friday (25th January 2019), the Governor Jay Inslee said in a statement that there is an outbreak of measles and the Washington State Military Department and State Emergency Operations Center would be collaborating with the Department of Health to fight the outbreak. There have been 32 cases of measles as of Saturday says the Department of Health.

3d illustration Measles virus. Image Credit: Design Cells / Shutterstock

Most of the infections have occurred in the Clark County, in southwest Washington. This borders Portland, Oregon. The infection seems to have spilled over to King County, which includes Seattle, Washington with reports of a single case.

There are at present 31 cases of measles in Clark County and the numbers are on the rise, warn health officials. There is also a spread of misinformation regarding this vaccine-preventable illness in children, they add. The misinformation is spreading online, they warn.

The outbreak sprung a flurry of activity on social media including Facebook and there is a spread of misinformation. The health officials are not only fighting the outbreak but also a spread of misinformation. Dr. Alan Melnick, the Clark County Public Health Director, in a statement said, “I think that misinformation is doing a disservice and it’s dangerous.” He explained that people are being dissuaded from vaccinating themselves and their children against the disease to stop the spread of this infection.

According to Melnick, there is false information going around that measles is not fatal. “Before the vaccine became available in the '60s and we started mass vaccination, 400 to 500 people in the U.S. died every year,” Melnick explained. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control too recently encountered 35 deaths due to measles in Europe, he said.

According to the officials, one infected person attended a Portland Trailblazers home game and was probably a likely source of infection. Some of the cases of measles have also visited the Portland International Airport and other busy areas including schools, hospitals, churches etc.

The public health emergency declared in Clark County last week has been extended to whole of Washington in this latest announcement. Governor Inslee said, “The measles virus is a highly contagious infectious disease that can be fatal in small children, and the existence of 26 confirmed cases in the state of Washington creates an extreme public health risk that may quickly spread to other counties.” Sources reveal that 21 of the cases were noted among children aged between 1 and 10 years.

Measles is a vaccine-preventable infection that can be easily prevented by the MMR vaccine which was first introduced in 1968 in the US. However misinformation has led a significant number of parents not vaccinate their children against this infection.

According to the CDC, 2018 was the thirds year in a row that there was a rise in number of children entering school without having been vaccinated with MMR. According to the National Immunization Survey, number of 2 year olds who have never been vaccinated has risen from 0.9 percent among babies born in 2011 to 1.3 percent among babies born in 2015. The non-vaccinated population of children is particularly high in the state of Oregon. The non-vaccinated children entering schools was 1 percent in 2000 and has risen to 7.5 percent in 2016-17. Oregon is close to Clark County and this has sparked worries.

According to CDC recommendations, all persons should be vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella 9MMR) to protect themselves against the infections. Children should receive two doses of MMR vaccine. The first dose is to be administered between ages of 12 and 15 months and the second between ages 4 and 6 years.