Measles exposure in Portland
Health officials said measles exposure occurred at Centennial Middle School in Portland in early April and that contact tracing and containment steps were underway. (opb.org)
Hundreds of people at Centennial Middle School in Southeast Portland may have been exposed to measles during three school days in early April. (opb.org) Oregon Health Authority said the exposure windows ran from 9:20 a.m. to 6 p.m. on April 1, April 3 and April 6 at the school at 17650 Southeast Brooklyn Street. Officials added April 3 to the list on April 14 after first naming the school the same day. (oregon.gov, oregon.gov) Multnomah County and state officials said they were tracing contacts, warning families and telling anyone who may have been exposed to call a health care provider before showing up at a clinic. The county said measles spreads quickly and can cause serious illness. (multco.us, multco.us) Measles moves through the air and can linger after a sick person leaves, which is why schools can generate long exposure lists from a single case. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported officials think this school exposure may still be containable because they moved quickly and many students are likely vaccinated. (opb.org, multco.us) Oregon had confirmed 13 measles cases by April 4, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting, after the state had reported 11 cases as of March 26 on its measles dashboard. The recent Portland-area exposures followed earlier sites that included a supermarket, a hospital, a restaurant and a cafe. (opb.org, oregon.gov, opb.org) One confirmed Multnomah County case announced March 26 was linked to a March 7 exposure at a Gresham WinCo, and that person had received one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. State data posted in late March showed 10 of Oregon’s 11 cases were in people who were unvaccinated or whose status was unknown. (multco.us, oregon.gov) Health officials have been urging Oregon residents to check whether they have had two doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, which is the standard protection used in school immunization rules and outbreak response. Clinicians were told on April 3 to report suspected measles immediately and isolate patients before testing. (multco.us, multco.us) For Portland families, the immediate timeline is simple: watch for symptoms after those April 1, April 3 and April 6 school exposures, call ahead before seeking care, and wait for contact tracers to finish sorting who was at risk. (oregon.gov, oregon.gov, multco.us)
