Public health officials in Clallam County are awaiting test results to see if they have caught a measles outbreak early enough to stop it at four people.
As of Monday, there had been no new cases of measles confirmed, but as many as 20 people are in quarantine, said Iva Burks, Clallam County Health and Human Services director.
All those in quarantine had been in direct contact with the four confirmed measles cases, all of whom live in Port Angeles, Burks said.
“We are waiting to see. We are not in the clear just yet,” Burks said.
None of the four people who have been diagnosed with measles in Clallam County this month had been vaccinated prior to catching the illness, Burks said.
They include the first known patient, a 52-year-old man who was diagnosed on Feb 1 and who has since recovered; a 5-year-old girl attending Olympic Christian School, who was diagnosed on Feb. 11 after she was exposed to the first case; a 43-year-old man diagnosed on Feb. 18, who was a friend of the 52-year-old man; and a 14-year-old boy — the brother of the 5-year-old girl — who was diagnosed Thursday.
Burks said the teenager is a homeschool student.
Several unvaccinated students from Olympic Christian School, 43 O’Brien Road in Port Angeles, and people who had known contact with the four patients are among those quarantined.
Both the 43-year-old man and the 14-year-old boy were in quarantine at the time they become contagious and are not thought to have exposed the public.
The two children had not been vaccinated, and the two adults had no memory or records of having received vaccinations, Burks said.
The adults were given tests for measles antibodies which indicated that they had never been vaccinated, she said.
It was not known how the initial patient was infected with measles.
“We’d love to solve that mystery,” Burks said.
Fully immunized people typically can neither catch measles nor spread it to others.
Adults born after 1957 generally require one vaccination. Adults born before 1957 are thought to be immune.
Children require two vaccinations about a month apart for full immunity.
All parents are encouraged to check the vaccination status of their children.
Clallam County Health and Human Services’ Public Health Section will continue with no-cost immunization clinics from 8:30 a.m. to noon today, and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday at 111 Third St., Suite 1A, Port Angeles.
As many as 40 to 60 people per day have received vaccinations or boosters at the clinic, Burks said.
“We would like to see more,” she said.
Call 360-417-2274 to make an appointment. Walk-ins will be served but may face a wait.
Burks said West End clinics are planned, but no details are yet available.
Measles is associated with a high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes leading to a measles rash three to five days after symptoms begin, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For details about measles, vaccinations, symptoms, morbidity and other information, visit http://tinyurl.com/PDN-CDCmeasles.
________
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
