The U.S declared measles eliminated in 2000, yet Washington has had 43 cases just in the last two years. You have probably heard the name, but what really is measles? Measles is a highly contagious disease, which symptoms include rash, fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes. The infection can also lead to diarrhea, ear infection, pneumonia, brain swelling and even death. Measles is extremely viral; most cases are contagious before a single sign of symptoms. Symptoms usually appear 7-14 days after exposure. The virus can last in the air for up to two hours after the infectious person leaves.
In 1963, when measles hospitalizations reached upwards of 50,000 a year the Measles Mumps and Rubella vaccine was introduced. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are up to 97% preventive against the measles virus.

Currently, the reported case count of 2026 is 31 with an outbreak (3 or more cases) in Snohomish and Clark County. As of April 1st, King County has confirmed 2 cases. Of the Washington state cases this year, 84% are unvaccinated, with unknown vaccination status for the remaining 16%, including the 2 cases in King County. King County’s acting director and health officer Dr. Sanda J. Valenciano states that, “As we start traveling more during spring and summer months, we need to prepare for more potential exposure to measles, which is spreading in the U.S. and abroad.” She goes on to describe how preventable measles is through vaccination and asking those traveling to check their vaccination status to slow the spread and prevent future outbreaks. The Lincoln Log got a chance to speak to School Nurse Roni Castro on measles and school protocol following an infection. According to Nurse Roni, If Lincoln were to have a case, the school would have to pull the vaccination status of every student. Unvaccinated students would be sent home for about 3 weeks to ensure the full infection and incubation period has ended. Given the virality of the disease, these precautions are necessary to protect all students’ health and safety.

But unvaccinated students aren’t the only ones who are at risk. Nurse Roni spoke about vaccine non-responders, which are people who don’t get full immunity or any at all from vaccines. She said the importance of vaccines are not just to eradicate disease’s but more to ensure herd immunity to keep vaccine non-responders safe. Herd immunity is the indirect protection of a population because of the level of immunization. While it varies between diseases, a virus like measles requires at least 95% of immunity to reach the protection of herd immunity. Even though it is a Washington state requirement that all children enrolled in school must have full immuration. Only allowing religious exemptions since 2019, personal exemptions for the MMR vaccine has never been allowed. Declining vaccination rates across the country means the possibility of herd immunity is threatened if not impossible. The two cases in King County indicate the Seattle population does not have full protection against measles, especially if it eventually becomes an actual official outbreak. If you have any further questions or concerns kingcounty.gov is frequently updating the places of infection, other resources and much more. If you need immunization or any other health resources, the Teen Health Center is available to all students who are interested.