Canadian Measles Outbreak Spreads to Washington State

A woman who has been confirmed with measles has exposed residents of several western Washington locations to the highly contagious disease, according to Department of Public Health officials. Washington health officials have discovered that she most likely picked up the infection when visiting relatives in British Columbia, Canada, which is currently experiencing a large-scale outbreak.

A public health warning released by the Washington state Department of Health (DoP) says that a Whatcom Country woman in her 20s recently contracted an infection of the measles virus after visiting relatives in British Columbia, Canada.

Two days later, she reportedly attended a Kings of Leon concern in Seattle's Key Arena, as well as a Best Western Hotel, a Starbucks, Beth's Cafe, the LeMay Car Museum, and several other public shopping locations in Pierce County. It has been verified that she also worked at the Lynden Dutch Bakery while contagious.

The immunization status of the woman in question has not been determined, but it remains unlikely that she was ever vaccinated with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. Washington DoP officials are asking that anyone who was at the aforementioned locations between March 26 and March 28 contact a healthcare provider to discover if they had been immunized. Anyone who has no been immunized and is experiencing flu-like symptoms or unexplained rash should seek medical treatment immediately.

According to the Washington DoP, the state typically has five or fewer cases of measles infection per year, but so far this year there have been seven confirmed cases. In an unrelated case of exposure, a person in San Juan County, Washington has also been confirmed for measles alongside four additional suspected cases.

Measles, which spreads by coughing and sneezing, has an infection success rate well over 90 percent among those not immunized, according to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. In the U.S., immunizations rates are encouragingly high, with an estimated 90 percent of all U.S. children receiving a vaccine regiment when very young.

However, Canada is not so lucky, reporting a number of large-scale outbreaks in communities who refuse MMR vaccination for religious reasons.

 The Washington Department of Health public warning was released on April 2.