Case of measles reported in Marion County
MARION COUNTY, Ore. -- A case of measles, a highly contagious and rare illness, has been reported out of Marion County.
Public health officials reported that someone who had traveled internationally started to exhibit symptoms and was diagnosed on Wednesday at Doernbecher Children's Hospital.
The person has been infectious since Jan. 18, officials said.
Health experts say more than 95 percent of people living in the Pacific Northwest have been vaccinated and are immune to measles.
Still, because measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease and a potentially serious infection, health officials want the public to be on alert for symptoms.
Specifically, officials say people who were at the below locations at these times are susceptible to contracting the illness:
- Marshall's store at Keizer Station, 6365 Ulali Dr. N.E., between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Jan. 20.
- Target, 6450 Keizer Station Blvd. N.E., between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Jan. 20.
- Walgreen's, 4380 Commercial St. S.E. in Salem, between 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Jan. 22.
- OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital main lobby and seventh floor clinics, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Jan. 23.
Folks living in Marion County wishing to get vaccinated for measles should contact their medical provider or the Marion County Health Department at 503-584-4870.
Measles is so rare now that parents and many doctors and NPs have never seen it. It can go undiagnosed much longer and people are likely to infect a lot more of the public, including sick people in doctor office waiting rooms, before it's caught. It is a disease that can be deadly to those who are suseptible, like the children of anti-immunization nuts, and especially people with poor immune systems. It causes complications in about 30% of cases such as pneumonia, encephalitis and severe ear infections that can lead to deafness. It causes death in 1 or 2 of every 1000 cases.
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Good lord, why the panic? My sisters and I had the measles when we were little and we are still here and healthy. You would think it was a smallpox outbreak the way the media carries on.
 @minniemouse It's a serious disease that can cause birth defects should a pregnant woman contract it. Â
Whooping cough now measles. I wonder where these diseases are coming from?Illegals maybe?
 @Jim330rifle Mexico's vaccination rate is higher than the US. They don't have as many of the crunchy clueless hippy moms and paranoid libertarians as we have.
 @Jim330rifle OK, that was snarky of me -- I get weary of the comments blaming everything from measles to the lack of jobs on 'illegals'. Â
 @Jim330rifle Yeah, because American's never travel to Central America or anywhere else in the world, and we all get vaccines too. Therefore, it must be them illegals!
 @Jim330rifle @JTesla  Yes, Jim, it's the illegals.  You see, the way viruses work is that they can only infect someone IF that person crosses an imaginary line and has not gone through the correct procedures for crossing said line.  There's a very large (albeit invisible) misting system above this imaginary line that sprays the virus ONLY on those without proper documentation.  It's all quite technical and too long to explain thoroughly here, but it's similar to how foot-in-mouth disease is spread.Â
 @Sundowner  @Jim330rifle  @JTeslaÂ
Keep in mind that legal immigrants are required to be vaccinated before they enter the country while illegals don't have any vaccinations for the most part.
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Think of 12 million people in the US with no vaccinations spreading everything that comes along.
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Jim's comment has a lot of merit.
Close to my house =\ At least My husband and I have been vaccinated.
That poor illiterate virus is just here for a better life, apparently doing the job that American viruses won't.
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If a person is intelligent enough to navigate the globe via traveling internationally, why aren't they intelligent enough to get vaccinated? Â
@Sundowner Well if they don't have this vaccine in the country that this person came from as they are not American and only got symptoms after they arrived here I don't think it has to do with intelligents.Â
 @vaccinewise By the way, in 2009 Mexico had it's first reported case of measles in six years....the infected child had returned from a trip to France.  So your undertone is understood and repudiated.
 @vaccinewise Are you joking?  Do you have a clue how many good ol' American born and bred people travel internationally during the holidays?  The story said the person had traveled, not immigrated.  My grandson (blond, blue-eyed, white as the driven snow) got the measles last Spring break.  He hasn't been out of the country, goes to Buckman....but his mother didn't finish up his early childhood vaccinations because of the big mercury flap/BS several years ago.  Oh....turn on SpellCheck.
Uh oh...