After a Lane County resident was diagnosed with measles earlier this month, public health officials started backtracking the patient’s movements. Four area businesses are identified as possible exposure locations.
Troy Potter owns The Bier Stein in Eugene. When he learned last week that a person with measles spent four hours in his establishment (on October 21st) Potter went into manager mode.
“Quickly did a list of everyone who worked that day. In the kitchen, the front of the house, all day and all night. So it was about 20-some employees.” Potter said. “And I started texting, calling, ‘Have you been immunized against measles?’ And I went through and every single one of them, 100% of them had all been immunized.”
A cleaning crew came in to sanitize faucets and door handles. Staff re-washed all glasses and silverware. He says the county health department has given his business a clean bill of health.
Potter says he watched a surveillance video to see who was exposed to the unsuspecting customer with measles.
“This person sat, with one other person, at the back of the restaurant. They weren’t around anybody else,” Potter says. “And the one bartender she did have a communication with, had been immunized. He actually had measles as a kid, when he got the vaccine, so he’s double immunized.”
The three other Lane County measles exposure locations are Creswell Bakery, Blu Mist Restaurant & Bar and North Fork Public House. Two measles cases entered Oregon through an international flight to Portland on October 12th.
Incidentally, Potter says when he called around to check on the vaccination status of his staff, one employee had already taken a trip to New York City. Luckily, she was immunized against measles, mumps and rubella.