UPDATE (01/30/19): The Oregon Health Authority has confirmed a person contagious with measles visited Deschutes County on January 19 and 20. They now say that person visited Mountain Air in Bend on Saturday, Jan. 19, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and Juniper Swim and Fitness Center on Sunday, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The infected person is one of 38 now linked to a broader outbreak that started in Clark County, Washington
Deschutes County Communicable Disease Nurse Jill Johnson tells KBND News most people have been vaccinated and are protected. "We do not have any confirmed cases of Measles in Deschutes County. The person that has been confirmed was just visiting our area on January 19th and 20th."
County Health Services is working to notify people of their potential exposure and help them take steps to stop the spread of the virus. Johnson says, "[We're] Working with the businesses to identify people that were unimmunized and visited those locations on Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th, to make sure they’re familiar with the signs and symptoms of Measles and contact their healthcare provider right away, should symptoms arise." She adds, "For general questions about Measles, they should call 211, if they’ve been immunized. If they’re not immunized and they visited one of the locations, they should call the health department at 541-322-7418."
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BEND, OR (01/29/19) -- At least 35 people in the Portland-Vancouver area are now infected with measles. The outbreak originated in Clark County, Washington around Christmas. Local officials now say a person who may be infected visited the Bend area, 10 days ago, possibly exposing Central Oregonians.
The Oregon Health Authority is awaiting test results to confirm, but Deschutes County Public Health officials say possible public exposure sites include Mountain Air on January 19, between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., and Juniper Swim and Fitness on January 20; that timeframe isn't yet known. The locations are now considered safe because the virus can only live up to two hours in airspace where an infected person coughed or sneezed.
If you believe you may have been exposed and are not fully vaccinated, please contact Deschutes County Health Services at 541-322-7418 (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Anyone with questions about public exposures can call 211 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily). Click HERE for more information on when to call a doctor and where to receive vaccines.
Measles poses the highest risk to unvaccinated pregnant women, infants under one-year-old and people with weakened immune systems. According to KATU News in Portland, 31 of the 35 infected people were unvaccinated and the other four are not verified to have received the vaccine.
