First measles-related death in more than a decade reported in Washington
Jul 2, 2015, 10:48 AM | Updated: 11:01 am
A Clallam County woman died this spring due to an undetected measles infection that was recently discovered during an autopsy, according to the Washington State Department of Health. The department recommends children are vaccinated with two doses of MMR by the time they are 6 years old.
The first measles-related death in the country in more than a decade was reported in Washington.
A Clallam County woman died this spring due to an undetected measles infection that was later discovered during an autopsy, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
The woman was most likely exposed to measles while she was in a local medical facility during a recent outbreak. The woman had several other health conditions.
“She didn’t have some of the common symptoms of measles, such as a rash, so the infection wasn’t discovered until after her death,” the Department of Health reports. “The cause of death was pneumonia due to measles.”
The measles diagnosis for the Clallam County woman brings the state’s case count to 11. It is the sixth in Clallam County for the year.
The last active case of measles in Washington this year was reported in late April. Because more than three weeks had already passed since the last active measles case, no one who had contact with one of the known cases is any longer at risk for developing measles from those exposures, according to the Department of Health.
The last confirmed measles death in the United States was reported in 2003.
