Measles breaks out
BY RACHELLE PEtFFER
Photos provided by CDC website
STAFF WRITER
M u itn a m à h C o u ifty rtSw h as fo u r
co n fiim e d c fse s; o f m easles as o f Bob.
9, according to the M ultnojnah County
website. W ashington’s Ciarle County now
has 53 confirmed cases as well.
In 2 0 0 0 , th e m e a sle s v iru s w as
declaUd eliminateci in the U nited States
because of the measles vaccine, a strong
V accin atio n p r o g r a m th a t ach ieves
high vagline coverage in children and a
strong public healthsystem for detecting
and responding to m easles cases and
outbreaks, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. But with
thè recent outbreaks, it’ s important to be
informed about why these outbreaks are
occurring and what measles looks like.
B efore th e m u m p s, m easle s and
ru b e lla v a c c in e w a s cre a te d and
dispersed throughout th e U .S ., 3 million
to 4 m illion people contracted measles
each year, w ith an estim ated death toll
o f 400 to 500 p eople. A n ad ditional
48,0 00 w ere h o sp italized and 1,000
suffered e n cep h alitis, or sw elling o f
th eb rain . Long term , m easles can lead
to subacute sclerosing panencephalitis
(SSPE), which is a rare but fatal disease of
the central nervous system that results
when measles is acquired early in life,
w ith the risk being higher w hen a child
contracts measles under the age of two.
SSPE generally develops seven to 10 years
after a person has measles, even though
the person seems to have fully recovered
from the illness.
A s o f 2 o i6 , th e o verall n a tio n a l
coverage for vaccines am ong children
aged 19 to 35 m onths was 91.1 percent,
with the MMR vaccine coverage in some
states being less than 90 percent. W ith
one dose of the M M R vaccin e, it is 93
percent e ffe ctiv e , w hile g ettin g two
doses increases your resistance to 97
percent. With both doses three out of 100
get m easles, but according to the GDC it
is much milder and lèss likely to spread.
The CDC attributes measles outbreaks,
both recent and the ones in years past,
to many people from the U .S . traveling
to coùntries w ith m ore m easles cases
than usual, as well as sm all pockets of
unvaceinated people in the U .S .-itself.
“ The first case in Oregon had few public
exposure sites. The three additional
cases posé rio risk to the public. These
individuals were in close contact with the
first cáse,” said Beth Byrne, com munity
Clackamas Print
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relations specialist for Clackamas County
Public and Governm ent A ffairs. “ Once
they were identified, they stayed hom e
and in regular contact with M ultnom ah
County Communicable Disease Services.
Strong public health policies can ensure
th a t those at risk from close contact
to known m easles cases do not expose
others.”
I f you are con cerned th a t you or
som eone you know m ay have been
exposed to meaisles, it*s im portant to
look for the m ost com m on sym ptom s.
For the early stages, these include a
fever, a runny nose, coughing, red eyes
and a sore throat. After two to three days,
sm all w hite spots, called Kbplik spots,
may appear in the m outh. The signature
rash usually appears after three to five
days, w ith a fever that could spike at
104 degrees. '
“ M easles is very rare in the United
States due to access to safe and effective
vaccination and successful vaccination
p o licies^ ’ said B yrne, “ T h u s, m any
younger medical providers have not seen
measles in the past, Many viral illnesses
can cause various fullbody rashes. The
rarity o f m easles typically can lead to
not routinely considering m easles in
th e d ifferen tial d iagn osis for-a rash
illness, and during an outbreak, multiple
rashes can be thought to be m easles.
Roseola, chicken pox and allergies to
medications can all cause rashes. O ther
symptoms such as tim ing of a fever and
progression of the rash on the body can
help differentiate m easles from other
causes for rash. ”
According to the Oregon.gov website,
colleges and universities require fu ll-
tim e students to be fu lly vaccinated
unless they were born before Jan. 1,1957.
Com m u n ity colleges have a d ifferent
3D graphic of a measles virus, top left. The measles virus produces red rashes
in a person’s throat, top, and on a person’s stomach, bottom.
F
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policy, w ith students participating- in
practicum experiences in allied health,
education, early childhood education and
intercollegiate sports being required to
have the measles vaccine.
“ When our region or community faces
an outbreak of any sort, we communicate
w ith students, faculty and staff with as
m uch inform ation as possible to keep
théclackam asprint.com
everyone informed of what is happening
and what can be done to prevent further
c o n ta m in a tio n ,” said Tara Sp reh e,
dean o f acad em ic fo u n d atio n s and
connections at Clackam as Com m unity
College. “ We have team s o f staff ready
to put any necessary protocols into place
depending on the nature or severity of
the outbreak.”
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February 13, 2019