Oregon measles outbreak hits 30 cases, all in unvaccinated people
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Key takeaways:
- Oregon has the second highest rate of kindergarten vaccine exemptions in the U.S.
- Three counties have reported 30 cases of measles since June, all in unvaccinated people.
A measles outbreak in Oregon has grown to include 30 cases, all of them in unvaccinated people, according to state health officials, who warned about further spread as the school year begins.
Two people have been hospitalized in the outbreak and none have died, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) said. There have been 20 cases in Marion County, nine in Clackamas County and one in Multnomah County.
Just seven of the cases are in adults aged 20 years or older. Twelve involve children aged younger than 10 years.
In updates, the OHA has highlighted the rising rate of kindergarten vaccine exemptions in the state, including nonmedical exemptions. Oregon has one of the highest rates of vaccine exemptions in the United States, with 8.8% of kindergarteners exempt from state vaccine requirements during the 2023-2024 school year — up from around 1% before 2000, the OHA said.
According to data reported by the CDC last year, only Idaho (12.1%) has a higher rate of kindergarteners with vaccine exemptions.
It is part of a larger overall trend of declining vaccination rates in the U.S. since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the CDC report, kindergarten vaccination rates have fallen from 95% to 93% over the past few years, representing tens of thousands more kids who have not received routine immunizations compared with previous years.
Earlier this month, OHA’s medical director for communicable diseases and immunizations Paul Cieslak, MD, said there have been “about 2 months of sustained transmission” during the measles outbreak, which is Oregon’s largest since 2019, when the state reported 28 cases linked to a larger outbreak over the border in Washington.
“Before 2019, you have to go all the way back to the early 1990s to see case counts this high,” Cieslak said.
References:
- As new school year looms, health officials urge measles vaccination. https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/ORHA/bulletins/3adaf08. Published Aug. 8, 2024. Accessed Aug. 29, 2024.
- Oregon Health Authority. Measles/rubeola (vaccine-preventable) – 2024 outbreak in Oregon. https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/diseasesconditions/diseasesaz/pages/measles.aspx. Updated Aug. 27, 2024. Accessed Aug. 29, 2024.
- Seither R, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2023;doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7245a2.
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Oregon Health Authority. Measles/rubeola (vaccine-preventable) – 2024 outbreak in Oregon. https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/diseasesconditions/diseasesaz/pages/measles.aspx. Updated Aug. 27, 2024. Accessed Aug. 29, 2024.
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