MEASLES INFORMATION

The Snohomish County Health Department has confirmed three new measles cases this week in local children who were exposed to a contagious family visiting from South Carolina. These three new cases amount to an outbreak – a sign the disease is now spreading locally. The children were unvaccinated for protection against measles. Here is the latest media release from the health department.

What is measles?  Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads through coughing and sneezing. The virus can survive for up to two hours in a room where someone who is infected has coughed or sneezed. If someone is not immune and is exposed to the virus, they have a 90 percent chance of becoming infected.

Symptoms generally appear 7 to 21 days after the person is infected. They include:

• Cough
• Runny nose
• High fever
• Red and watery eyes
• Rash

The rash often shows up several days after other symptoms. Someone is contagious up to four days before and four days after the rash appears. For more information about measles, visit our website.

Who is at risk of getting measles? 

• Infants who are too young to receive the measles vaccine (less than 12 months old)  
• Children over 1 year of age who have not received at least 1 dose of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine  
• Adults born in or after 1957 who have not been vaccinated or have not previously had measles disease. People born before 1957 were likely exposed to measles as children and are usually considered immune.
• Individuals with compromised immune systems who cannot get the vaccine are very high risk. 

What child care and early learning providers can do

• Review immunization records for your facility. Make sure the children in your program are up to date for their age on the MMR vaccine. (The vaccine requirement for child care attendance is one dose of MMR at 12 through 15 months of age and a second dose at 4 through 6 years of age).
• Make sure each child's Certificate of Immunization Status (CIS) form is signed and up-to-date.
• Make sure you know the MMR vaccine status for all of your staff and that they meet the requirements of WAC 110-300-0120 (3).
• Make sure that you have a current list of children who have exemptions to vaccines. The Washington State Department of Health provide sample child care susceptible child list  forms in MS Word or MS Excel format.  Personal/philosophical exemptions are not permitted for the measles vaccine.
• Watch for symptoms of measles (fever, cough, runny nose, irritated eyes, rash) and follow your child care’s exclusion guidelines (WAC 110-300-0205) and the Keep Me Home If poster. 
• Do not exclude non-immune or non-vaccinated children from child care at this time unless they are showing symptoms or you are instructed to do so by the Snohomish County Health Department.
• Because measles is a notifiable condition, you must call the Snohomish County Health Department’s disease reporting line at 425-339-3503 to report if a child or staff in your child care is diagnosed with measles. 
• Share the list of exposure notifications with families. 

If a child or staff member develops any of the symptoms (fever, cough, runny nose, irritated eyes, rash): 

• Encourage their family to call their primary care provider and tell them about the child’s symptoms right away.
• If you suspect measles, call ahead prior to visiting a health care professional or medical facility so they can take appropriate precautions prior to your arrival. 
• He/she should stay home and away from other people and from public places, and be excluded from child care, until at least four days after the rash appears (provided that no other exclusion criteria are met). They are contagious throughout this period.
• Stay informed. Sign up for Health Alerts for Child Care Providers and our Child Care Health Outreach monthly newsletter at www.snohd.org/notifyme.

Exposure locations: 

Resources: 

Measles | Snohomish County Health Department

Measles Preparedness for Early Learning Programs | Washington State Dept of Health

Measles | Washington State Department of Health

Measles Infographic | CDC 

Measles Poster | CDC