First Snohomish County measles case is Bothell-area student

EVERETT — Snohomish County has its first confirmed case of the measles in the latest outbreak — a teenage boy who attends North Creek High School in the Bothell area.

The Snohomish Health District on Wednesday released a list of locations and dates where he has been since he has been infectious. From May 5 to 12, those locations included school, three long stints at the Starbucks kiosk at Safeway at 24040 Bothell Everett Highway, AMC Woodinville 12, Top Pot Donuts in Bothell and other stores and restaurants. Anyone at those sites during specified times might have been exposed.

The Northshore School District urged families to monitor children for signs of the illness. The infected student was not in school this week.

“We will be reaching out to the parents, particularly those who have exemptions for vaccination,” health district officer Dr. Mark Beatty said during a Wednesday press conference.

Later in the day, the district said in a web post: “We have contacted the North Creek (High School) families who have students that have not received the vaccination. These students will be excluded from school until June 3, barring any additional confirmed cases.”

The North Creek case is one of five recently confirmed in Western Washington. Two were in King County and two were in Pierce County. Those four cases involved adults, said Dr. Kathy Lofy, the state health officer.

One person was fully immunized and one was not immunized, Lofy said Wednesday. The remaining three vaccination statuses were unknown. Officials did not specify where those patients lived.

Of the five, one was hospitalized, she said.

Lofy said the new cases are unrelated to an earlier outbreak in Clark County, where most illnesses were among children.

“It is very likely that we will see additional cases here in Washington,” she said.

All five of the people recently infected spent time at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport during their likely period of exposure or infectiousness.

All five people with confirmed cases of the measles in the state spent time at Sea-Tac Airport during their likely time of exposure or infectiousness. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, file)

The first case in the latest measles outbreak was confirmed May 12 — a Pierce County man in his 40s who was not hospitalized. A second Pierce County resident was confirmed Wednesday. The man, in his 50s, also was not hospitalized.

Measles is highly contagious and can be serious. It is easily spread when an infected person talks, coughs or sneezes.

The measles, mumps and rubella vaccination is the best means for prevention, Lofy said.

“It is important that everyone check their immunization status,” she said.

The vaccine is 93 percent effective after a single dose and 97 percent effective after two doses.

Under a measure that Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law earlier this month, parents in Washington will no longer be able to claim a personal or philosophical exemption for their children from receiving the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine before attending a day care center or school. The new law takes effect at the end of July.

Last school year, 90 percent of all kindergartners in Snohomish County received MMR vaccination, according to numbers from the state Department of Health. Northshore ranked fifth among Snohomish County school districts, with a 91.1% vaccination rate. The Edmonds School District had the highest rate at 92.3%. Lowest was Stanwood-Camano at 79.1%.

There have been 77 measles cases statewide in 2019, according to the state Department of Health. Of those, 52 were ages 1 to 10. Another 15 were ages 11 to 18. Of the total, 71 cases have been reported in Clark County.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that this year, as of May 10, there had been 839 confirmed cases of measles in 23 states. This is the greatest number reported in the U.S. since 1994 and since measles was declared eliminated in 2000.

Andrea Brown: abrown@heraldnet.com; 425-339-3443. Twitter @reporterbrown.

About the measles

The measles virus travels through the air. It stays for up to two hours in the air of a room where a person with measles has been.

You can catch measles from an infected person as early as four days before they have a rash and for up to four days after the rash appears.

Symptoms, which begin seven to 21 days after exposure, include fever, diarrhea, cough, runny nose, tiredness and red, watery eyes.

After a few days, a rash begins, which usually starts on the face and can spread over the entire body.

Measles usually lasts seven to 10 days.

If you were potentially exposed, call a health care provider if you develop an illness with fever or unexplained rash.

Do not go to a clinic or hospital without calling first to say you think you have measles.

Source: Government health agencies

Measles exposure locations

There is one confirmed case of measles in Snohomish County. Here is a list of locations the person visited while infectious. Anyone who visited these locations during the specified times may have been exposed.

Source: Snohomish Health District