By
- Jamie Hale | The Oregonian/OregonLive
- Kristine de Leon | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Visitors to a Gresham urgent care clinic may have been exposed to measles, Multnomah County health officials announced Friday
Legacy Go Health Urgent Care at 22262 N.E. Glisan St. has been identified as the state’s latest measles exposure site, as the highly contagious virus continues to infect people in Oregon
Visitors to the Gresham clinic might have been exposed if they visited between 4 and 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 23, health officials said. Because most Oregonians are vaccinated against the virus, officials believe there is little threat to the public
The alert comes as Oregon has reported 32 measles cases so far this year — the state’s highest annual total in more than three decades. The number is still far below the hundreds of infections recorded during a 1991 outbreak. Oregon reported just one measles case last year
Still, health officials have said that the numbers might not fully capture the outbreak. Wastewater tests in February indicated that the virus may be circulating more widely
Anyone who may have been exposed should immediately reach out to a health care provider, officials said. They should also be monitoring themselves for symptoms for 21 days after exposure
Measles is one of the world’s most contagious diseases. It spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes, and virus particles can linger indoors for up to two hours after that person leaves
Symptoms usually appear seven to 21 days after exposure and often begin with a fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes before a rash starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body
While most people recover from measles, the disease can lead to serious complications like pneumonia or cause brain swelling and even death. The disease can be deadly for infants, children younger than 5 years old, pregnant people and those with weakened immune systems
Two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are about 97% effective at preventing infection. Public health experts generally estimate that at least 95% of a community must be immune to prevent the highly contagious virus from spreading widely
