Health officials have issued an alert to passengers of an Asiana Airlines flight from Thailand and Korea that landed at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Saturday.
One of the passengers was infected with measles, which is highly contagious. Anyone on flight 272 or in the airport’s baggage claim area between 10 a.m. and noon Saturday might have been exposed to the virus.
The advisory was issued by public health officials in King and Snohomish counties.
They advise people who were on the flight or near the baggage claim area who are not immune to measles, either by having had the disease already or by having had a measles immunization, to contact their health care provider.
Most people born before 1957 had the disease as children and are immune. And many of those born after 1957 have been vaccinated against measles.
The risk of catching the disease is low, since the man did not make stops on the way from the airport to his home in Snohomish County, health officials say.
So far, no one else has reported becoming sick.
However, the disease is easily spread, and people can become contagious “before and after they have the measles rash,” said Suzanne Pate, a spokeswoman for the Snohomish Health District.
The man who was infected with measles was briefly hospitalized for dehydration. He’s now recovering at home, she said.
She would not disclose the man’s age or where he lives in Snohomish County.
The man contracted the illness while traveling in Asia. He became ill on the flight and was treated at a medical facility in King County on Jan. 9.
The man’s illness was confirmed as measles by a state Department of Health laboratory on Jan. 9.
Measles symptoms include a fever of 101 degrees or greater, rash, coughing and red, watery eyes. The rash begins on the face and spreads to the rest of the body.
Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
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