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Health officials say no end in sight for Clark Co. measles outbreak

Measles vaccine vial

VANCOUVER, WA (KPTV) – The measles outbreak just keeps growing, now at 23 confirmed cases and two suspected cases.

Clark County Public Health officials say this could last weeks or even months.

One mom had a close call with her son.

Jaxin Hale is a rambunctious little 4-year-old, constantly running around and playing.

But last week, his mom, Jamie Carle, knew something was up. Her little boy was in bed with a fever and a rash.

Given the latest measles outbreak in Clark County, she feared the worst.

Her son had been to Vancouver Home Connection the week prior, which is on the exposure list.

“I was scared,” Carle said. “Seeing those symptoms was kind of like a disbelief thing where I didn’t want to associate it with measles, but it got to the point where it was like, this is all of those symptoms and I need to do something further or at least report it to someone who can tell me what to do.”

The good thing is Jaxin had received both doses of the measles vaccine, which is 97 percent effective, and after talking to Clark County Public Health, Carle realized her son was fine.

It turns out, Jaxin just happened to have eczema and a fever at the same time.

But at latest count, 23 others aren’t so lucky.

“I don’t see this ending any time really soon,” said Clark County Public Health Director Dr. Alan Melnick. He said the county’s low vaccination rates are like kindling to a fire for this incredibly contagious disease.

The county stands at a vaccination rate of 78 percent.

Ideally, he says that would above 90 percent.

“The thing that keeps me up at night is the possibility that we could lose a child to this disease or have serious complication from it,” Melnick said.

And because the number of cases and exposure sites keeps growing, he says this outbreak could last months.

This is the first time Clark County has seen the measles since 2011.

Dr. Melnick said someone probably brought measles in from another country, and then it just spreads like wildfire to anyone who is unvaccinated.

The likelihood of getting measles after you’ve been vaccinated is extremely low.

Read the full story here. 

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