Clark County Public Health is investigating two more confirmed measles cases and 11 suspected cases.
Every case is among children, according to a Public Health news release. On Jan. 4, Public Health announced an investigation into one confirmed case with a child between ages 1 and 10. That child brought the measles into the county after traveling into the county from outside the country.
Dr. Alan Melnick, director of Public Health, said it’s highly likely there will be more confirmed cases in the county. Public Health is planning daily updates.
“I wouldn’t get too hung up on the numbers right now, because they are going to undoubtedly going to change,” Melnick said.
It’s unclear if the two new cases are connected to the earlier confirmed case. It’s also unclear if those cases are connected to the 11 suspected cases. Melnick said the first case earlier this month shouldn’t be contagious anymore.
That child, as is true with the two new cases, was unvaccinated. One child is between 1 and 10, and the other is between 11 and 18.
The current cases involve children who visited two public locations while contagious. People who visited these locations may be exposed to measles:
• Church of Truth, 7250 N.E. 41st St., Vancouver, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Jan. 6.
• Portland International Airport, 7000 N.E. Airport Way, Portland, from 10:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. on Jan. 7. More specifically, anyone who spent time in Concourse D and the Delta Sky Lounge during that time period.
Immunizations are the best protection against measles. One dose of the measles vaccine is about 93 percent effective at prevention, while two doses is about 97 percent effective, according to Public Health.
Measles presents the biggest risk to those who have not been vaccinated, including infants younger than 12 months. You are likely immune to measles if you were born before 1957, have had measles before or are up to date on vaccinations (one dose for children 12 months through 3 years old, two doses in anyone 4 years and older).
Illness can develop in about one to three weeks after exposure. Symptoms begin with a fever, cough, runny nose, and red eyes, which is followed by a rash that usually begins at the head and spreads over the body.
Common complications of measles include ear infection, lung infection and diarrhea. Swelling of the brain is a rare but much more serious complication. Measles may also cause pregnant women to give birth prematurely, or have a low-birth-weight baby. For every 1,000 children with measles, one or two will die from the disease.
The last time measles was confirmed in Clark County was in 2011. That year, three measles cases were confirmed. The first case of measles was diagnosed after someone traveled overseas and then returned to Clark County, said Marissa Armstrong, Clark County Public Health information officer. The other two cases were separate from the first, but linked to each other.
There was also a measles case in July that Clark County Public Health felt comfortable confirming based off of the evidence of the case. There was, however, no lab test done because the family declined the test. Armstrong said the lack of test confirmation means the state will not conclusively confirm that case. The state and county have different confirmation guidelines.
Melnick stressed that measles is a very serious disease, and explained that if everyone would get vaccinated for it, the disease could basically be eradicated. He said he’s seen people downplay the disease on social media, with an attitude that amounts to “It’s just measles.”
“It ain’t ‘just measles,’ ” Melnick said. “It’s a bad disease.”
