UW Medicine to start in-house measles testing ahead of World Cup in Seattle
Mar 12, 2026, 5:00 AM | Updated: 3:23 pm
A measles advisory is shown tacked to a bulletin board. (Photo: Brandon Bell, Getty Images)
(Photo: Brandon Bell, Getty Images)
UW Medicine is preparing to offer in-house measles testing ahead of this summer’s World Cup matches in Seattle, citing concerns that large international crowds could accelerate the spread of the highly contagious virus.
The in-house testing will allow for faster results, which health officials said is critical in identifying cases and limiting transmission.
Dr. Alex Greninger, head of the Division of Infectious Disease Diagnostics in Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at UW Medicine, said the combination of heavy air travel, dense crowds, and declining vaccination rates increases the risk for new outbreaks.
“We know the cruise season is big,” Greninger said. “We know people like to come here when the weather is really nice. And so those are all signs of potentially more cases to come.”
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Washington state has recorded 26 confirmed measles cases so far in 2026, more than double the 12 cases reported statewide in all of 2025. About 80% of this year’s cases have been among children, most of them school-aged, Greninger said.
“Our vaccination coverage is still too low,” he said. “We’re below the median level in the United States; we’re below the level that creates herd immunity. And so those are all sorts of circumstances that we expect to see more cases coming up.”
“This is really all preventable, but it may get worse,” said Dr. Shireesha Dhanireddy, associate chief medical officer and a professor of medicine, allergy, and infectious diseases at UW Medicine. “I mean, history shows that things can get a lot worse before they get better.”
She hopes people get their children vaccinated because, in some cases, measles can lead to lung or even brain infections, and possibly death.
“Sure, the majority of people who get measles are not going to have these severe complications,” she said. “But do you really want to take that risk?”
“I remember 20 to 25 years ago, when we talked about measles, it was eliminated in the United States, in the Western Hemisphere, and it was next up for eradication,” Greninger said. “There’s no animal reservoir for this virus. You can get rid of it. We can win this.”
Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.
