Snohomish County measles outbreak grows, latest case linked to Mukilteo church

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — The Snohomish County Health Department has confirmed three additional measles cases since declaring an outbreak two weeks ago, bringing the total number of cases in the county to six.

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The latest case was confirmed on Tuesday in an unvaccinated child.

Health officials said the child was infectious while attending an afternoon service at Slavic Christian Church Awakening in Mukilteo on Sunday, Jan. 18.

Anyone who attended the church between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. that day may have been exposed to the virus, the health department said.

People born before 1957 or who have received two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine are considered immune, according to health officials.

Earlier this month, the Health Department confirmed three measles cases in local children who were exposed to a contagious family visiting from South Carolina.

The three connected cases met the definition of an outbreak, indicating the disease was spreading locally, according to health officials.

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Two additional measles cases were diagnosed in Snohomish County after the outbreak was announced.

Those cases, also involving unvaccinated children, occurred within a family that was already isolating because a sibling had tested positive for measles.

Health officials said no new exposure sites were linked to those cases, and the general public was not at risk.

“Most people in our county have immunity to measles through vaccination, so the risk to the general public is low,” said Health Officer Dr. James Lewis. “The next two to three weeks could be telling on where this outbreak is going to go. Now is the time to find out your immunization status and get up to date on vaccinations.”