OREGON, USA — On Thursday, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) noted that measles was essentially eliminated in 2000. However, nearly 9 percent of kindergarteners in the state are not vaccinated.
Oregon is currently experiencing its largest measles outbreak since 2019, with cases reported in Marion and Clackamas counties, and one case in Multnomah County.
Paul Cieslak, M.D., OHA's medical director for communicable diseases and immunizations, said, "You’d have to go all the way back to the early 1990s to see case counts this high. The reason is that we had maintained very high vaccination rates, and very high population levels of immunity."
The OHA states that the decline in measles, mumps, and rubella vaccinations also known as MMR. Began in 2000, with more parents opting for non-medical exemptions. Despite how easily the disease spreads, "You could contract measles if you are susceptible, simply by breathing the air that person coughed into. Virtually all susceptible household members of a case of measles are going to get the illness." It takes four days for the typical rash to appear. "Someone could not even know that they have measles yet and be transmitting it for four days — out in public, taking public transportation, in a grocery store, wherever, and you could be exposed in that way."
This is why Oregon health officials want to get ahead of the spread before the school year begins. They advise that an unvaccinated child who contracts measles may be asked to stay home for seven to 21 days after exposure. Sarah Present, M.D., MPH, and Clackamas County health officer said, "Keeping children in school and childcare is an absolute priority. But measles is a serious disease. It’s not just a little rash; there are very frequent complications, and up to one to three in every thousand children who get measles can die from it."
Currently, 25 people in Oregon have contracted measles, all unvaccinated. To encourage vaccination, OHA is hosting free vaccine clinics. Marion County will host clinics next week at various locations, and Clackamas County has one on Friday at Gladstone Health Center from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Click here for more information on the measles.