Posted Sept. 28, 2023. Past health advisories and alerts are archived for historical purposes and are not maintained or updated.
A patient with confirmed measles has been reported in an unvaccinated adult resident of southwest Idaho who was exposed during recent international travel.
This person with measles spent time at the Boise airport on September 13 during their infectious period, and in the Nampa area on Sept. 14-15.
Investigation is ongoing, and possibly exposed people are being notified by the local public health district; however, it is possible that some people who were exposed would not have been identified by public health officials; vigilance for this highly infectious disease is critical.
Providers are reminded to:
- Consider measles infection in exposed patients with compatible symptoms, including:
- Prodrome of fever, cough, coryza and conjunctivitis for 2-4 days
- Generalized maculopapular rash that usually begins on the face at the hairline and then spreads to the neck, trunk, and extremities
- Koplik spots may appear on buccal mucosa 1-2 days prior to rash
- Be prepared for the possibility of patients with measles at your facility
In urgent/emergency healthcare settings:
- Patients with suspected measles should wear a mask covering the nose and mouth and be triaged immediately away from waiting rooms, in airborne isolation if available
In outpatient clinic settings:
- Schedule suspected measles patients to be seen at end of day, if possible, and keep them out of waiting rooms
- Use standard and airborne infection control precautions
- Only staff with documented immunity to measles should enter patient’s room
- After patient is discharged, do not use or have staff enter the room for 2 hours
All healthcare settings:
- Healthcare personnel should use respiratory protection (i.e., a respirator) that is at least as protective as a fit-tested, NIOSH-certified disposable N95 filtering facepiece respirator, regardless of presumptive evidence of immunity, upon entry to the room or care area of a patient with known or suspected measles.
- Collect specimens on patients with suspected measles for diagnostic PCR testing:
- Throat, nasal, or nasopharyngeal swab (Dacron with plastic or aluminum shaft) placed in 1- 3mL of Viral Transport Medium (VTM) or Universal Transport Medium (UTM)
- Keep the sample at 2-8°C. Note: swabs with calcium alginate or cotton tips and wooden shafts are unacceptable
- Contact SRHD to determine if collected specimen should be sent to the Public Health Laboratory for additional testing
- Report suspected cases of measles to SRHD immediately, before discharging or transferring patients - call 509.324.1442 or after hours at 509.869.3133
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