People may have been exposed to measles if they were at Salem Health Hospital on March 16 or Kaiser Permanente Skyline Medical Office on March 13.
SALEM, Ore. — Oregon health officials said two more measles exposure spots have appeared, this time in Salem.
There has been a total of nine reported cases this year within the state, with six of them unvaccinated, according to the Oregon Health Authority.
OHA said people may have been exposed to measles if they were in Salem Health Hospital’s emergency waiting room between 6:10-8:30 p.m. on March 16, as well as on the second floor of Kaiser Permanente Skyline Medical Office on March 13 between 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
OHA did not give any further details but recommended that those who may have been exposed contact their health care provider.
KGW has reached out to both medical facilities. Kaiser Permanente said it does not have anything to add after OHA’s response.
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This comes as measles is spreading across the U.S. at a rate last seen in the 1990s, including within Oregon and Washington. As of March 13, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed 1,362 cases of measles. Cases are spiking as vaccinations drop nationwide; the U.S. had eradicated the highly contagious disease back in 2000.
About measles
Measles spreads through the air whenever an infected person coughs or sneezes; the virus particles can linger in the air for up to two hours after the infected person has left the area, OHA said. People are considered contagious with measles for four days before a rash appears until four days afterward.
Symptoms usually begin with a fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes, then a rash that begins on the face and spreads to the rest of the body. Those symptoms usually begin 7-21 days after being exposed to a person with measles.
Anyone experiencing symptoms should call their medical provider before arriving to prevent exposure.
Infants and children under 5, adults older than 20 years old, pregnant people and those with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable, OHA warned. In recent years in developed countries, 1-2 out of 1,000 measles cases have been fatal.
Two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97% effective at preventing measles, OHA said.
