Posted Jan. 27, 2023. Past health advisories and alerts are archived for historical purposes and are not maintained or updated.
On January 21, 2023, testing at Washington State Public Health Laboratories (WA PHL) confirmed measles in a King County resident with a rash that started on January 20, 2023. The adult patient is believed to have been infected during recent international travel prior to returning to Washington. Public Health – Seattle & King County is actively implementing preventive measures for and monitoring the health of those who have likely been exposed.
Before the patient was diagnosed, others may have been exposed in the following locations:
Health officials at Public Health – Seattle & King County and Division of Global Migration and Quarantine (DGMQ) have been contacting people who were at impacted locations to alert them of the potential exposures.
For more details, please refer to Public Health – Seattle & King County’s Health Advisory.
Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) asks health care providers to be aware of this situation. Please ask your patients who have measles-like symptoms that started between January 25 and February 10 if they have a history of having been at the times/locations listed above.
If measles is highly suspected, please immediately contact the SRHD Epidemiology Duty Officer at 509-869-3133 to request rapid measles molecular testing at WA Public Health Laboratory (WA PHL). WA PHL is prepared to perform molecular testing for measles virus on respiratory and urine specimens, as well as serologic testing (both IgG and IgM).
See the measles assessment checklist for information about how to submit specimens.
