A member of a group of foreign minors visiting in the United States has been confirmed to have measles, according to local public health officials.
The group was in the country as part of a summer program where they traveled to different locations while staying with a host family. The child with measles infection has specifically stayed with a family in Snohomish County in Washington state.
The Snohomish Health District’s Communicable Disease and Surveillance team has asked the host family the public places where the child went. Health officials have also been monitoring the members of the host family, particularly those who are suspected to be unvaccinated.
List Of Public Places Visited
Health officials have confirmed about the measles infection on July 6. This would mean the minor have exposed others to measles before the said date. The minor visited the following public places from June 20 to June 27:
Walmart in Kelsey Street, Monroe
June 20, 2 p.m. – 10 p.m.
McDonald’s in State Hwy 2, Monroe
June 21, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Dairy Queen, State Hwy 2, Monroe
June 21, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
YMCA, Fryeland Blvd, Monroe
June 21, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Providence Regional Medical Center Everett
June 22, 3 p.m. – 9 p.m.
June 23, 3 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Wendy’s, Broadway, Everett
June 23, 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Providence – Monroe Clinic Pharmacy, Kelsey Street, Monroe
June 24, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Swedish Redmond Clinic, Union Hill Road, Ste 200, Redmond
June 27, 11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Providence – Monroe Laboratory, Kelsey Street, Monroe
June 27, 1 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
What To Do
The Snohomish Health District has been contacting the above-mentioned businesses to alert them of possible exposures. The people who were possibly with the child at the said locations around the same day and time are advised to confirm if they have received vaccines for measles. They should go to the doctor if they develop fever and an unexplained rash between June 21 and July 12. Anyone who suspects they contracted the disease must call his or her doctors ahead of visits so other patients will not be infected.
County officials, nevertheless, said most people in the county are vaccinated. This means the risk of a public outbreak is low.
Measles Outbreak
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there were measles cases reported from Jan. 1 to June 16 across 19 states: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas.
CDC said measles can spread when it reaches a community in the country where most of the people are unvaccinated. In fact, there had been outbreaks in the past that were linked to travelers with measles who visited the country. The disease remains common in some countries in Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and Africa.
In 2015, an individual from overseas started a multi-state measles outbreak after visiting a park in California.
In 2014, many of the cases in the country were linked to travelers coming from the Philippines. In 2011, most of the measles cases were brought by travelers coming from France.
