The Oregon Health Authority has confirmed the state’s first measles case of 2025.
At a press conference Tuesday, health officials said they’re investigating a Multnomah County case of measles in a person who recently returned to Oregon from an international trip.
The person, an adult who is not vaccinated, developed measles symptoms including a sore throat, weakness and a fever on June 16.
Officials warned that people might have been exposed if they were at Portland International Airport’s arrivals and baggage claim between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m on June 17. The person also visited the Lake Oswego Safeway located on A Avenue between 1 p.m. and 3:20 p.m. on June 22.
Dr. Paul Cieslak, medical director for communicable diseases and immunizations at OHA’s Public Health Division, warned that people with measles are contagious for four days before a measles rash appears and for four days afterward.
A rash typically follows symptoms including a fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes. This can cause people to expose others without even knowing it, Cieslak explained.
“Once people get a rash they might stay at home and avoid exposing other people. But before that rash starts, they may be circulating in the community and that’s where all these unvaccinated people are going to be at risk,” Cieslak said. “It’s possible that we can see a lot of transmission.”
Cieslak said the disease could possibly move outside the Portland metro area, but he added people who are vaccinated are at a low risk.
Measles is contagious and spreads through the air after a person with the virus coughs or sneezes. According to OHA, measles particles can linger in the air for up to two hours after a person who is infected leaves an area.
Those who aren’t vaccinated are more susceptible to contracting the disease, Cieslak said. And because Oregon has a high kindergarten nonmedical vaccine exemption rate, he worried many people could be at risk.
He urged people who might have been exposed to contact their health care providers as soon as possible to avoid potentially spreading the disease.
Health officials believe the person contracted measles while traveling abroad for the last four to five weeks. After returning, the person developed symptoms and was hospitalized in the Portland metro area until June 21.
According to OHA, no staff members or patients were exposed and the person is recovering.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.