Second measles case identified in Washington, linked to first case

A second measles case was confirmed in Western Washington today, and health officials believe it was tied to our first case last month.

Luckily, this means there isn’t a whole new set of exposure chances to the public. King and Snohomish County health departments looked at any other potential exposures and found nothing.

“There is no risk of measles to the general public from this new case,” stated the release from Seattle & King County and Snohomish County Health Department.

Where did patient contract measles?

The first case had five locations where health officials thought there could have been public exposure. This person, the second infected in the state, was exposed in one of those spots.

This case was discovered at the end of the risk period, and today is the final date the health department said symptoms could arise from that first exposure, meaning that if you didn’t come down with it by today, it’s unlikely you will.

This second positive case was identified on Monday, March 17 in an adult resident of Snohomish County.

Nationwide, we have the highest measles case count in years. Texas is closing in on 300 confirmed cases alone. The state health department says their current outbreak could take an entire year to contain, and is soon at risk of being considered an endemic.

For more information, visit: kingcounty.gov/measles.

Visit KIRO 7 News for more local coverage.