Confirmed: Dangerous Disease Spreading in Southern Washington
Health authorities say 21 cases of Measles have been detected in the Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA area. The majority of the children are elementary-school aged.
Measles is contagious before symptoms become serious, resulting in infected children interacting with others normally and spreading the disease.
The children in Vancouver, WA, are known to have attended school, church, visited a Costco, IKEA and even the Portland International Airport.
Considering the amount of traveling families are likely to undertake for the upcoming three-day weekend, any infected kids from those schools, churches and stores (but who aren't showing signs of Measles yet) could spread the disease far and wide.
Health experts say several of the sick kids were never vaccinated for Measles. Some families believe the dangers of vaccination outweigh the benefits. With a very real threat so close to home, I wonder if this news changes anyone's mind.
According to the Mayo Clinic online, symptoms of Measles include fever, dry cough, runny nose, sore throat, conjuctivitis in the eyes and white spots inside the mouth called Koplik's spots.